Sports call - that old adage that defence wins championships doesn't quite apply in netball, writes Bridget Tunnicliffe.
That's been highlighted by the impact the loss of star shooter Grace Nweke has had on the Northern Mystics.
Grace Nweke gets the ball from Jane Watson during the 2021 ANZ Premiership. Photo: Photosport
The ANZ Premiership defending champions have suffered three consecutive losses since Nweke was sidelined with an ankle sprain.
Up until then the Mystics were sitting well clear of the pack at the top of the table.
The Pulse are now threatening to pass the Mystics on points and get a home grand final.
To add to the Mystics' woes, two players tested positive for Covid-19 on the weekend and they will struggle to put a strong line-up out for this Saturday's crunch game against the Pulse.
The Stars completely outclassed them 59-38 on the weekend. The Mystics had just 49 attempts at goal compared to the Stars' 82.
It's easy to criticise the Mystics for relying too heavily on the 20-year-old but if you have a weapon like Nweke at your disposal, of course you are going to build your game plan around that.
It would be weird not to.
From her 10 matches this season, Nweke has scored a whopping 500 goals at 92 percent accuracy.
If you have a player capable of shooting in excess of 45 goals every time they step out on court, you are going to utilise that.
How would the Steel go without George Fisher? Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The reality is there are other franchises who would be in a pickle too if their starting goal shooters were also scratched.
The Steel's English import George Fisher has been a rock all season for the Southerners and that's because she's accurate and puts up a high volume of shots.
Pulse shooter Aliyah Dunn has now edged Nweke at the top of the league's shooting stats courtesy of a few games in hand.
If you took Dunn out of the Pulse line-up there's no doubt they would struggle.
New Zealand franchises are not blessed with dozens of 45+ a game shooters that they can call on.
The Mystics are probably feeling it more acutely because Nweke is such an exceptional player with her long reach and strength.
Last year she shot a record 85.5 percent of the entire Mystics goals. That was in part because her main shooting partner Bailey Mes was hesitant going to the post.
There has been a slightly better spread of the load this year with Monica Falkner and Filda Vui more inclined to put shots up, but Nweke still dominates.
Falkner and Vui travelled quite well in their one-goal loss to the Magic last week, considering the newness of the combination.
But when they struggled against the Stars on Sunday, coach Helene Wilson used five different shooters, including defender Pheonix Karaka.
The Mystics are a far better side than the one we saw on Sunday, even without Nweke. Defensively they were unusually quiet on the weekend too.
Falkner and Vui form much more of a moving shooting circle so are a completely different kettle of fish for the midcourters to feed.
Helene Wilson Coach of the Mystics. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Right now the Mystics midcourters don't have the luxury of being able to throw long bomb passes into a tall timber holding shooter, which they had with Nweke.
They are more than capable of working themselves to the circle edge and putting more passes in before getting the ball to Falkner and Vui but that's a bigger task fitness wise.
Standing and biffing a ball from half way down the court is far easier physically than having to put in dozens of cuts and changes of direction.
Tayla Earle, Peta Toeava, and Claire O'Brien are fit players but it's all about game fitness and they didn't have to make so many movements in real time, before Nweke got sidelined.
There are mobile shooting combinations that have success but it's usually the exception rather than the rule.
Three years ago Maria Folau and Ameliaranne Ekenasio formed a world class shooting combination for the Silver Ferns. It was unorthodox in that there was a fairly even spread of goals between the pair, but that is rare.
The Mystics are hoping Nweke will be able to take the court for a potential elimination final on 8 June, which they have already qualified for at a minimum.
Wilson didn't think the injury would affect Nweke's ability to put her hand up for Silver Ferns' selection.
Trials for the Commonwealth Games squad are being held in Wellington from 20-23 June and Wilson said Nweke was progressing ahead of time with her injury.
So both the Mystics and the Silver Ferns will have everything crossed for Nweke's return to court.
Because any side that wants to win would like to have a Grace Nweke on the team sheet.
