Halpenny focused on the job at hand
Press Release June 12, 2014
A heady few days has not prompted any sense of distraction from Ellen Halpenny ahead of Kia Magic’s imminent assignment, the ANZ Championship netball preliminary final against Queensland Firebirds, in Brisbane on Monday.
After playing a strong hand in Magic’s heart-stopping one-goal win over the NSW Swifts in the minor semi-final, the hard-working goal attack received the ultimate accolade for an impressive season with selection as the only new cap in the Silver Ferns team for next month’s Commonwealth Games.
That in itself was a dream come true but with the chance now of progressing to the June 22 Grand Final against Melbourne Vixens, it has been a week to savour for the unassuming 23-year-old.
Having played in the trans-Tasman league since its inception in 2008, starting when she was just 17 for the Tactix, in her home city of Christchurch, Halpenny has faced a bumpy journey in between.
Since shifting to the Magic last year, the determined shooter’s early promise has begun to evolve and as excited as she is about her recent elevation, for now it’s one step at a time.
``It’s important to keep the two separate and that’s what I’ve been trying to concentrate on,’’ she said. ``They are two different teams and all my focus this week is with Magic on the Firebirds game.’’
Underdogs against the Swifts and similarly tagged for the Firebirds clash, Magic have continued to surprise many with their exploits this season. And despite some wobbly moments in the back half of the campaign, their unity as a team is continuing to build.
``That result against Swift has brought our team even closer together,’’ Halpenny said. ``Those bench girls were amazing in their support of us and it’s just added another little bit of belief for us in getting fired up for what is ahead.’’
Learning from previous mistakes, Halpenny believed the team were getting better in the crunch situations where ball retention and decision-making were keys to success and that Magic were far from the finished product.
``There’s still more for us to improve on and I guess this is another week for us to put it out on court and go about doing it,’’ she said.
``It’s been an amazing journey with this team this year. I think we’ve come together as a really good unit. We were written off at the beginning of the season and for us we just wanted to be that team that went out, fought for the whole 60 minutes and took every moment by the moment.
``It’s massive ups to Julie (Fitzgerald, coach). She’s done a really good job with us…..still putting the pressure on us, still keeping the trainings intense, still looking at the bigger picture and still reminding us of all our goals…..it’s been really cool.’’
Magic lost a tight regular season contest with the Firebirds by four goals two weeks ago, a subdued Queensland team missing their opportunity of a direct route to the Grand Final when following up with a loss to the well-drilled Vixens.
Halpenny described finals netball as a new ball game and with both team’s seasons on the line, expected the intensity levels would rise another notch or two.
After the recent draining clash with the Swifts and another trip beckoning across the Tasman, there has been an emphasis on re-energising weary bodies.
``We’re trying really hard to get that extra sleep-in and go to the pool as we were a bit battered and bruised after that game so the recovery has been a massive priority this week,’’ Halpenny said.
Jane Hunt
Kia Magic media liaison
Ph: 021-107-0287
