Imagine the pandemonium in the McCausland-Durie household. Just when plans were being finalised on how the Pulse could take down the Steel in the ANZ Premiership Grand Final, the upstarts from South Auckland did the job for them.
Delivering when it mattered most, the Northern Stars have advanced to the ANZ Premiership Grand Final after upsetting defending champions Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel 56-53 in the Elimination Final in Invercargill on Wednesday.
The Good Oil Tactix midcourter Kimiora Poi will head to Australia to play in the remainder of the Suncorp Super Netball season as a replacement player for the Collingwood Magpies.
The dress rehearsal has been put to bed and now the Southern Steel and Northern Stars go toe-to-toe for real in the ANZ Premiership Elimination Final.
As the Northern Stars head into their ANZ Premiership elimination final showdown against the Ascot Park Southern Steel in Invercargill this week, netball fans will have their last chances to see Leana de Bruin out on court as the former Silver Fern will not return to the court in 2020.
Tickets to the 2019 ANZ Premiership Grand Final have been in hot demand, with the full allocation exhausted within two hours of being released to the public today.
With a bigger prize looming next week involving a rematch against the same opponents, the Ascot Park Hotel Steel gained the early favouritism after outshining the Northern Stars 63-46 in Invercargill on Wednesday.