Grace Nweke of the Mystics during the ANZ Netball Premiership round 6 match between the Magic in Rotorua. Photo: Photosport
The Magic have put themselves into the ANZ Premiership play-offs mix after beating the defending champion Mystics 54-42 in Auckland last night.
They have leapfrogged the Mystics to sit third on the ANZ Premiership ladder after 11 rounds.
The Magic are the only team yet to play finals since the competition began in 2017 but must fancy their chances of changing that if they can continue to put out performances like last night.
The game also marked the return of Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke, who hasn't been seen since round three when she injured her knee.
But the Mystics shooter was only able to play 15 minutes while the franchise carefully manages her return. The Mystics were missing wing attack Peta Toeava again as she works her way back from injury.
The defending champions have had some struggles without their key feeder and shooter and they were apparent again last night.
The Magic led the Mystics 13-11 after the first quarter but the damage was done in the second period with the Mystics guilty of some erratic play.
A series of poor passes saw the Magic race out to a 23-13 lead and the Mystics injected former Silver Fern Kayla Johnson for a spell to try to stop the rot.
Circle defenders Erena Mikaere and Georgia Takarangi continued to pile the pressure on, while at the other end of the court Magic shooters Ameliaranne Ekenasio and Saviour Tui were slick.
At half-time the Magic led 30-18.
The long anticipated return of Nweke came in the third quarter and the Mystics were able to go more direct to the circle but some of the passes were off the mark.
It was a good starting point for Nweke, who scored 10 from 13 in the spell and the Mystics only lost the quarter by one.
The Mystics still trailed the Magic 45-32 going into the final quarter.
The Magic made no changes at all to their starting line-up in contrast to the Mystics who made several each quarter.
The Magic were very accurate with 89 percent compared to the Mystics' 75 percent.
The Mystics are only one point behind the Magic on the ladder with four rounds remaining.
With the pending return of Toeava and more minutes expected from Nweke the Mystics will be confident they can still make the top three and get the chance to win back to back titles.
