Looking to continue their unbeaten start in the 2015 ANZ Championship season, the Melbourne Vixens are preparing for a tough battle against an injury ravaged Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic team.
Heading across the Tasman, the Vixens aim to consolidate on two early season wins will be tested against a side that has proved to match up well in the past, coming into the game with a 5-4 advantage over the Vixens in their previous nine meetings.
The Vixens last victory against the Magic was Round 4, 2012 and is a statistic that gaoler and recent Vixens debutant Carla Dziwoki was keen to improve on.
“Certainly we wouldn't underestimate them [Magic] at all, Julie Fitzgerald is an amazing coach and will have all of their players up and about and prepared for our game," Dziwoki said.
“We just have to look at what we do well and pull out those good bits from our last two games."
“Going from the match against Thunderbirds and playing an Australian style, back to a New Zealand style of play and going over to New Zealand, we will have to adjust our game accordingly and just focus on what we do well."
The Vixens currently have the best away record in the ANZ Championship with 33 wins from 49 matches at a 67 per cent success rate.
Match details:
Sunday 15 March, 5.10pm (AEDT)
ABS Baypark Arena, Tauranga
LAST MEETING: Rd 4, 2014: Magic 49 defeated Vixens 44, Melbourne
- Kia Magic leads the Vixens 5-4 in nine previous meetings.
- The Magic has won the past three matches between the sides.
- The past four meetings between the sides have been decided by 5-goals or less and only two of the nine previous meetings have been decided by more than 10-goals, with 15-goals the biggest win by the Vixens in the 2009 Major Semi Final.
- The Magic has opened the season with a win over the Adelaide Thunderbirds (45-44) and a loss against the NSW Swifts (43-48).
- The Magic sit second in the New Zealand conference behind the Steel.
- The Vixens have started the season with two wins; Round 1 over the Pulse (64-40) and Round 2 over the Thunderbirds (48-39).
- This will be the Vixens first away match of the 2015 season with their opening two matches being played in Melbourne.
- The Vixens sit on top of the Australian conference ladder with two wins from two outings. The Fever and Swifts have won both of their opening matches but the Vixens have a better percentage.
- The Vixens have a record of 11 wins in 18 matches on New Zealand soil.
- The Vixens have the best defensive record after two rounds with an average of 39.5 goals per match being scored against them.
- The Vixens will play their 50th away ANZ Championship match against the Magic in Round 3.
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