2021 Northern Mystics season

The 2021 Northern Mystics season saw Northern Mystics compete in the 2021 ANZ Premiership.^[1][2] With a team coached by Helene Wilson, captained by Sulu Fitzpatrick and featuring Ama Agbeze, Bailey Mes and Grace Nweke, Mystics won their first ever premiership.^[3][4][5][6] After finishing the regular season as minor premiers,^[7][8] they defeated Mainland Tactix 61–59 in the grand final.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Northern Mystics
2021 season
Head coach	Helene Wilson
Asst. coach	Rob Wright Tia Winikerei
Manager	Meghan Robinson
Captain	Sulu Fitzpatrick
Main venue	The Trusts Arena
Season results
Wins–losses	11–4
Regular season	1st
Finals placing	1st
Team colours

Players

Player movements

Gains	Losses
Ama Agbeze[15][16] Kate Burley (Northern Stars)[17] Fa'amu Ioane (Northern Stars)[17] Claire O'Brien Filda Vui (Northern Marvels)	Emma Iversen Asher Grapes Emily Burgess Courtney Elliott

Source:^[1][2][18]

Roster

2021 Northern Mystics roster
Players	Coaching staff
Nat. Name Position(s) DoB Height Ama Agbeze (TRP) GD, GK, WD (1982-11-12)12 November 1982 (aged 38) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Kate Burley GD, GK (1997-04-23)23 April 1997 (aged 23) 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Tayla Earle C, WA, WD, GD (2000-04-22)22 April 2000 (aged 20) 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) Sulu Fitzpatrick (c) GD, GK (1992-08-20)20 August 1992 (aged 28) 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Fa'amu Ioane WD, C (1996-03-11)11 March 1996 (aged 25) 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Phoenix Karaka  GD, GK, WD (1993-11-06)6 November 1993 (aged 27) 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Bailey Mes GA, GS (1989-05-27)27 May 1989 (aged 31) 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Grace Nweke GS (2002-02-07)7 February 2002 (aged 19) 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Claire O'Brien WA, C (1997-03-11)11 March 1997 (aged 24) 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Michaela Sokolich-Beatson  GD, WD, GK (1996-10-02)2 October 1996 (aged 24) 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Elisapeta Toeava WA, C (1994-03-10)10 March 1994 (aged 27) 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) Saviour Tui GS, GA (2001-10-17)17 October 2001 (aged 19) 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Filda Vui GS, GA, WA (1996-04-16)16 April 1996 (aged 25) 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	Head coach Helene Wilson Assistant coach Rob Wright Tia Winikerei Manager: Meghan Robinson Physiotherapist: Pat Hunt Strength and conditioning: Kieran Griffiths Notes (c) – Captain (cc) – Co-captain (vc) – Vice-captain – Injury / maternity leave (TRP) – Temporary Replacement Player

Source:^{[1][5][6][19][20]}

Pre-season

Otaki tournament

Northern Mystics participated in the official ANZ Premiership tournament at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Otaki between 26 and 28 March. All six ANZ Premiership teams took part.^[21]

Fri 26 Mar	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	40–32	Northern Mystics	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
12.00pm

Sat 27 Mar	Mainland Tactix	64–56	Northern Mystics	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
9:00am

Sat 27 Mar	Northern Mystics	66–57	Southern Steel	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
5:00pm

Sun 28 Mar	Central Pulse	55–53	Northern Mystics	Te Wānanga o Raukawa
2:00 pm

Sources:^{[22][23][24][25]}

Regular season

Fixtures and results

Round 1

Mon 19 Apr	Northern Mystics	60–64	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	The Trusts Arena
7.15pm	Grace Nweke  36/41 (88%) Bailey Mes  6/9 (67%) Filda Vui  5/6 (83%)	Report Stats	Caitlin Bassett  36/41 (88%) Chiara Semple  16/22 (73%) Khiarna Williams  12/14 (86%)

Round 2

Sat 24 Apr	Northern Mystics	64–58	Southern Steel	Eventfinda Stadium
5.15pm	Grace Nweke  56/60 (93%) Bailey Mes  8/9 (89%)	Report Stats	George Fisher  42/42 (100%) Tiana Metuarau  16/21 (76%)

Round 3

Mon 3 May	Northern Mystics	53–52	Mainland Tactix	The Trusts Arena
7.15pm	Grace Nweke  49/56 (88%) Bailey Mes  4/8 (50%)	Report Stats	Ellie Bird  39/45 (87%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  10/18 (56%) Jess Prosser  3/6 (50%)

Round 4

Mon 10 May	Central Pulse	47–58	Northern Mystics	TSB Bank Arena
7.15pm	Aliyah Dunn  27/34 (79%) Te Amo Amaru-Tibble  18/24 (75%) Whitney Souness  2/4 (50%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  51/55 (93%) Bailey Mes  5/7 (71%) Saviour Tui  2/3 (67%)

Round 5

Mon 17 May	Mainland Tactix	64–63	Northern Mystics	Christchurch Arena
6.15pm	Ellie Bird  44/53 (83%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  20/29 (69%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  59/64 (92%) Bailey Mes  4/9 (44%)

Round 6

Mon 24 May	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	59–67	Northern Mystics	Trustpower Baypark Arena
8.15pm	Caitlin Bassett  26/28 (93%) Khiarna Williams  30/36 (83%) Chiara Semple  3/3 (100%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  47/55 (85%) Bailey Mes  8/13 (62%) Filda Vui  12/14 (86%)

Round 7

Sun 30 May	Northern Mystics	58–63	Southern Steel	The Trusts Arena
4.00pm	Grace Nweke  52/61 (85%) Bailey Mes  6/9 (67%) Filda Vui  0/2 (0%)	Report Stats	George Fisher  47/52 (90%) Tiana Metuarau  16/19 (84%)

Round 8

Sun 6 Jun	Northern Mystics	63–60	Northern Stars	The Trusts Arena
6.15pm	Grace Nweke  60/64 (94%) Bailey Mes  3/3 (100%)	Report Stats	Maia Wilson  34/38 (89%) Jamie Hume  10/15 (67%) Amorangi Malesala  16/17 (94%)

Round 9

Mon 14 Jun	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	63–68	Northern Mystics	Claudelands Arena
	Caitlin Bassett  36/41 (88%) Chiara Semple  17/20 (85%) Khiarna Williams  10/14 (71%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  57/61 (93%) Filda Vui  8/11 (73%) Bailey Mes  3/5 (60%)

Round 10

Sun 20 Jun	Northern Mystics	64–51	Central Pulse	The Trusts Arena
2.15 pm	Grace Nweke  54/63 (86%) Bailey Mes  2/9 (22%) Saviour Tui  2/3 (67%)	Report Stats	Aliyah Dunn  31/39 (79%) Te Amo Amaru-Tibble  16/20 (80%) Whitney Souness  4/7 (57%)

Round 11

Sun 27 Jun	Northern Stars	57–65	Northern Mystics	Pulman Arena
6.15pm	Maia Wilson  35/41 (85%) Amorangi Malesala  22/27 (81%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  55/59 (93%) Bailey Mes  3/4 (75%) Filda Vui  7/8 (88%)

Round 12

Sun 4 Jul	Northern Mystics	69–61	Northern Stars	The Trusts Arena
4.15pm	Grace Nweke  54/65 (83%) Filda Vui  11/14 (79%) Bailey Mes  4/9 (44%)	Report Stats	Maia Wilson  40/46 (87%) Amorangi Malesala  20/33 (61%) Monica Falkner  1/1 (100%)

Round 13

Sun 11 Jul	Southern Steel	61–58	Northern Mystics	Stadium Southland
6.15pm	George Fisher  39/41 (95%) Tiana Metuarau  22/46 (48%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  50/57 (88%) Filda Vui  6/6 (100%) Bailey Mes  2/3 (67%)

Round 14

Sun 18 Jul	Central Pulse	54–56	Northern Mystics	TSB Bank Arena
6.15pm	Aliyah Dunn  31/36 (86%) Te Amo Amaru-Tibble  18/26 (69%) Ivana Rowland  5/10 (50%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  52/61 (85%) Filda Vui  2/3 (67%) Bailey Mes  2/5 (40%)

Source:^[7]

Round 15

Sun 25 Jul	Mainland Tactix	59–63	Northern Mystics	Christchurch Arena
	Ellie Bird  42/44 (95%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  17/25 (68%)	Report Stats	Grace Nweke  49/51 (96%) Filda Vui  11/13 (85%) Saviour Tui  2/2 (100%) Bailey Mes  1/1 (100%)

Source:^[5]

Final standings

2021 ANZ Premiership ladder v t e
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	G%	BP	Pts
1	Northern Mystics	15	11	0	4	929	873	56	106.4%	4	37
2	Southern Steel	15	11	0	4	818	801	17	102.1%	0	33
3	Mainland Tactix	15	9	0	6	801	775	26	103.4%	4	31
4	Northern Stars	15	9	0	6	825	791	34	104.3%	2	29
5	Central Pulse	15	4	0	11	789	810	-21	97.4%	8	20
6	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic	15	1	0	14	802	914	-112	87.7%	7	10
Last updated: 9 August 2022

  Qualified for Grand final
  Qualified for Elimination final

Source:^[8]

Finals series

Grand final

Sun 8 Aug	Stats	Northern Mystics	61–59	Mainland Tactix		Spark Arena[26] Attendance: 5,000	SKYSport
		Scoring by quarter: 17–14, 33–28, 48–46, 61–59
		Grace Nweke  58/62 (94%) Filda Vui  2/3 (67%) Bailey Mes  1/1 (100%)		Ellie Bird  38/44 (86%) Te Paea Selby-Rickit  21/39 (54%)

Source:^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Award winners

New Zealand Netball Awards

Award	Winner
Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award	Sulu Fitzpatrick
ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year	Helene Wilson
National Netball League Player of the Year	Saviour Tui

Source:^{[5][27][28][29][30]}

ANZ Premiership Awards

Award	Winner
Grand Final MVP[12][14]	Elisapeta Toeava

Mystics Awards

Award	Winner
Fans Choice	Sulu Fitzpatrick
Manawaroa	Elisapeta Toeava
Mystics Mana	Fa'amu Ioane
Barfoot & Thompson MVP	Grace Nweke/Elisapeta Toeava

Source:^[6][31]

Northern Marvels

In 2021 Northern Marvels, the Mystics reserve team, were National Netball League premiers, defeating Northern Comets 64–56 in the grand final at The Trusts Arena. Mystics players Claire O'Brien, Filda Vui and Saviour Tui all regularly played for Marvels during the NNL season.^[5][32] Tui was named the NNL's 2021 Player of the Year.^[27][28]

References

1. "ANZ Premiership 2021 Media Guide" (PDF). anzpremiership.co.nz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
2. Brendon Egan (17 April 2021). "ANZ Premiership: Your team-by-team guide to the 2021 competition". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
3. "Fitzpatrick named Mystics captain for 2021". www.anzpremiership.co.nz. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
4. "Is this the Northern Mystics' year? Captain Sulu Fitzpatrick weighs in". stuff.co.nz. 4 July 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
5. "Netball Northern 2021 Annual Report" (PDF). www.netballnorthern.co.nz. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
6. "Northern Mystics – History". www.northernmystics.co.nz. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
7. "Mystics clinch minor premiership with nail-biting win". www.anzpremiership.co.nz. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
8. "(2021) Fixtures & results". www.anzpremiership.co.nz. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
9. "History-making Mystics win Grand Final thriller". www.anzpremiership.co.nz. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
10. "Mystics' magic claims first ever title for team in blue". www.northernmystics.co.nz. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
11. "Nweke inspires Mystics to maiden title". www.rnz.co.nz. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
12. "Netball: Northern Mystics claim first ANZ Premiership title with win over Mainland Tactix". www.nzherald.co.nz. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
13. Brendon Egan (8 August 2021). "Northern Mystics v Mainland Tactix live - ANZ Premiership grand final". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
14. "ANZ Premiership: Mystics dedicate grand final win to late Silver Fern Margaret Forsyth". stuff.co.nz. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
15. "Gold medallist joins Mystics defence". anzpremiership.co.nz. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
16. "Former England Roses captain rekindles career in NZ". www.rnz.co.nz. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
17. "The 'Old married couple' of the Mystics". www.northernmystics.co.nz. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
18. "2021 ANZ Premiership team rosters". anzpremiership.co.nz. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
19. "Northern Mystics complete 2021 ANZ Premiership team". www.northernmystics.co.nz. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
20. "Mystics complete 2021 ANZ Premiership team". anzpremiership.co.nz. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
21. "Last chance for teams to test the waters at Ōtaki pre-season". www.pulse.org.nz. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
22. "Rousing response from Pulse after loss of captain". www.pulse.org.nz. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
23. "Souness shines in Pulse thriller". www.pulse.org.nz. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
24. "Pulse starting to show their true colours". www.pulse.org.nz. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
25. "Pulse close pre-season tournament with a win". anzpremiership.co.nz. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
26. "ANZ Premiership Grand Final confirmed for Spark Arena". anzpremiership.co.nz. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
27. "Silver Fern Sulu Fitzpatrick completes stunning rise with Dame Lois Muir Supreme Medal". stuff.co.nz. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
28. "Silver Ferns defender Sulu Fitzpatrick claims top honour at Netball NZ awards". www.nzherald.co.nz. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
29. "Netball's best honoured at New Zealand Netball Awards". www.northernmystics.co.nz. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
30. "New Zealand Netball Awards – Winners". nznetballawards.co.nz. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
31. "Community Newsletter - Netball Northern - September 2021" (PDF). www.netballnorthern.co.nz. 7 November 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
32. "History-making win for Northern Marvels". www.netballnorthern.co.nz. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.