Three wins, two draws and eight losses somehow turned out to be good enough for the Southern Steel to make the ANZ Championships. So, what now? Netball writer Robert van Royen looks at the road ahead.
Regardless of what anyone thinks about the conference model, the Steel is into the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Yes, the weak New Zealand conference helped.
Particularly the surprise demise of the Central Pulse, arguably the favourite to win the conference at the start of the season.
Never mind the fact the Northern Mystics would be the only Kiwi team to make the playoffs under the old format, in which the top four teams advanced to the semifinals.
But the Steel did not come up with the conference system; it is merely benefiting from it.
With the regular season in the bag, the slate can be wiped clean and the Southerners can re-focus on what is effectively the start of a new campaign.
That new campaign will only last one match if the Steel comes up short against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon.
The Steel lost to the Magic twice during the regular season, but perhaps should have won at least one of those matches.
Now, it gets a third chance to topple the only New Zealand franchise to have won the competition (2012).
Should the Steel beat the Magic for just the sixth time in 18 attempts, it will play the Mystics for the New Zealand conference crown in Auckland on Monday, a short turnaround indeed.
The winner of that match will host the loser of the Australian conference final, either the Queensland Firebirds, New South Wales Swifts or West Coast Fever, for a spot in the grand final.
That is right, the Steel, with just three wins, could yet host a preliminary final (cue comments from haters of the conference system).
Believe it or not, if the Steel goes on to lose the conference decider against the Mystics, its season would not yet be over.
It would instead get a chance to advance to the grand final by beating the Australian conference champion across the Ditch.
But let us not get ahead of ourselves. The Steel must first get past the Magic in Hamilton.
Meanwhile, embrace a rare playoff berth. After all, the competition is under review and could see significant changes come 2017.
