Sport + Motorsport
Steel fans will pack extra stands at ILT Stadium Southland for Sunday's crucial clash with the Northern Mystics.
Two additional stands have been installed to boost capacity to nearly 3100, as the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel chase a finals berth with three regular season games remaining.
The Steel sit second on the ANZ Premiership ladder with a six-game winning streak. One more victory should lock them into the finals series.
Sunday's opponents, the Go Sweet Spot Mystics, cling to third place — two points behind Steel and desperate to put distance between themselves and the unpredictable Stars.
Steel dominated their first meeting this season, winning 57-46 in round three. This time they're playing for the Georgina Salter Memorial Trophy.
The visiting Mystics have won just twice at ILT Stadium Southland. The last time Steel needed extra seating was 2021, when they were on a similar five-game winning streak.
Steel head coach Wendy Frew said crowd support made the difference in crucial moments.
"It's incredible to soak up the energy and it spurs you on in those crucial moments. As a player the court can be a lonely place when you're in a bit of a pit so when that crowd get firing, it certainly lifts you and gives you the will to go another five percent and push your performance even further," Frew said.
"With only a home-and-away format, every game in this competition is important so we need to take advantage of every single thing which gives us an edge. At home, that's definitely our fans and we love it."
Frew said the team was already buzzing about playing at home again.
"The girls are already fizzing about playing in Invercargill. It was pretty special in Dunedin last week for our sellout crowd and now having that extra stand up is a real boost for the girls," she said.
"It's exciting to take the court knowing they have so many supporters behind them. There's a real buzz in Invercargill at the moment with the way the Steel and the Sharks are going so we couldn't be prouder to give Southlanders the chance to love sport and enjoy the performances we can put out there."
Frew wants to see urgency from her team after their patchy performance against the Magic.
"I want to see real urgency on attack and defence, good connections throughout the court and that real pride and passion to play in front of our home crowd," she said.
"We've just come off a performance against Magic where we know we could have been better so now we need to raise the bar. We need to ensure we are clinical with ball in hand and we're hustling every chance we get on defence."
The Mystics bring international firepower with shooter Maia Wilson, midcourter Pete Toeava and defender Phoenix Karaka, backed by experienced campaigners.
Frew expects an intense contest.
"Mystics are a real threat. They are peaking at the right time and we're actually really excited to play them. We know we are going to have to bring our A-game. In saying that, we need to concentrate on ourselves and what we can do on the court to stick to our structures and how we want to play the game," she said.
"Yes, it would be cool to cement that finals spot after round eight and this team is really eager. They are proud to wear the Steel dress and they want to have a big season. We've certainly got our team goals in place and we're tracking well so far but it's time for another step up for us.
"We are taking it one game at a time, and we know the Mystics are in front of us right now – that's our focus."
Tickets are available from ILT Stadium Southland or online.