Whai's Green Light Brings Pure Delight
There simply is not a bad shot if you're playing for The Northern Group Tauranga Whai - it seems every player has a green light at the offensive end, and it is bringing a level of supreme confidence for a team hitting top form at the business end of the season. The Whai launch more three-pointers per game than any other team, and such is their eye from deep they put up a staggering 48 shots from beyond the arc against the Queens in R9 - accounting for 60% of their total attempts from the field. The Whai are playing at pace, they don't want to play at less then a frenetic pace and if opposition teams can't quickly work out how to slow them - we might be looking at a 'Whai-It-Up' celebration on December 22.
Queens No Longer Feared
It doesn't seem that long ago the ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens were sitting at 5-2 and on the cusp of holding down outright position on top of the Tauihi ladder, however three straight home losses have seen the 2022 champions lose their grip of the rungs and almost certainly out of contention for a home semi-final. During that three-game losing streak the Queens have been ripped to shreds by opposition guards - namely Paige Bradley, McKenzie Forbes and Ashley Joens - and overall the Queens defence is leaking points at an alarming rate. Opposition teams are well aware of this weakness and are exploiting it, the tempo is up and transition into offence is being played at breakneck pace. But the Queens were 5-2 for a reason and their job right now is to find that spark again, get back to basics and become the team nobody wants to play in the finals. And it might help to get a clean bill of health for Jordan Horston and Stella Beck back too.
All-Star 5 Will Be A Tough Choice
MVP votes for R9 are in, and voting in R10 is going to play a part for this season's All Star 5 because the race for consideration in the All Star 5 is red hot. While all eyes are firmly fixed on the battle for the Tauihi championship, the coming weeks will also see a number of players presented with individual awards. This season’s All Star 5 looms as an incredibly tough choice for the selection panel, which will include all five Head Coaches along with four independent voters. When you consider the All Star 5 will have either 2 or 3 guards, the complexity grows because the talent has been outstanding. Same with the forwards and centres, of which you can also either have 2 or 3. Whichever way the selectors go, there will be some very good players missing out. Remember the season-long voting system (by coaches) plays a big role in decided the All Star 5 - the top 10 guards on the MVP voting list and the top 10 forward/centres on the MVP voting list all go through to the final All Star 5 selections.
Two Teams Made Tweaks In R9
If you blinked you may have missed it, but two finals-bound teams made a tweak to their respective starting five in R9. The barnstorming Whai inserted Morgan Yaeger into its starting unit and sent Laina Snyder into the important sixth player role, while the Kāhu started with Lilly Rotunno with Chloe Forster moving to a bench role. Of the other three teams, the Pouākai’s starting five remained steady, while both the Queens and Hoiho were forced to make changes due to injuries and unavailability. Coaches now only have R10 to make any final changes in their thinking, but one less thing they need to consider in finals is Rapid League, and that could be a factor in the starting line-ups each coach decided to roll with.
The Work Rate Specialists
This year’s Tauihi is loaded with star power, but there also those who deserve a call out for their sheer work ethic and incredible impact on a game across multiple levels. In R9 we again saw the competitive thirst and work rate of Haleigh Reinoehl come to the surface, she may well be the competition’s leader when it comes gut-running and getting to the next contest. Others that come to mind include McKenna Dale (Whai), Stella Beck (Queens), Mikhaela Cann (Pouākai) and Kāhu pair Lilly Rotunno and Chloe Forster, who all play with a level of relentlessness. Jihyun Park (Queens) is similar, and we have all grown accustomed to the competitiveness of Zoe Richards (Hoiho) over the last few years and this season she has been joined in the grind teamate by Samantha Bowman. The 'work rate specialists' not only play a massive role for their respective team, but they are a lot of fun to watch.
