When Georgia Heffernan pulls on the Southern Steel dress for her elimination final tomorrow, twin sister Kate will be pulling on her own pink dress for her semifinal across the Tasman.
Kate is gearing up for her first playoffs with the Adelaide Thunderbirds at 4pm (1.30pm Adelaide Time) - the exact same time the Steel will meet the Mainland Tactix for a shot at the ANZ Premiership final.
The duo - who punched their tickets to the Commonwealth Games this week - have played virtually all their netball together until Kate moved to Australia this year, so it is a rare occurrence for the family.
It put parents, Annette and Noel, in a ‘‘sticky situation’’, but after the proud parents have made the trip to four Thunderbirds games already this season, they will head to Invercargill tomorrow.
‘‘What are the odds of that?’’ Georgia Heffernan said of playing at the same time as her sister.
‘‘I’m so happy to have them at the game this weekend. I know they’ll be sitting there with a screen in front of them watching another game as well.
‘‘Hopefully we’ll step off the court and we’ll both have wins.’’
After six years with the Steel, Heffernan - who will captain the Steel with Kimiora Poi sidelined - is preparing for her first playoffs.
Coach Wendy Frew lead the Steel to their last titles as a player, going back-to-back in 2017-2018, and having her guidance from experience in the tough moments gave the players confidence.
‘‘Having Wendy is so great,’’ Heffernan said.
‘‘Wendy’s messaging - just to embrace it and all the work that we’ve done over the season, we’re so ready for it.
‘‘But also being ready and prepared for that pressure that we’ll put on ourselves, but we’ve all got each other’s backs. ‘‘We’re so excited. We just have so much belief within the group.’’
They beat the Tactix 56-54 last week to make the elimination final against the same opposition.
It was a ‘‘pretty weird’’ scenario, but the Steel can take heart from last week and Heffernan was proud of how her team fought back in the final five minutes to win.
‘‘We’ve just got so much belief in the group that we can go and do that again.
‘‘Also we didn’t play the way we wanted to that whole 60 minutes, so I think if we can put out a whole 60 minute performance, it’ll be an awesome game.
‘‘We’ve just been so focused on what we can do better so we’re feeling really ready for it.’’
Ash Barnett and Laura Balmer are one of the toughest defensive circles, giving Heffernan and in-form Aliyah Dunn a test.
The Tactix duo surprised the Steel shooters with their physicality during the round one loss, but they were pleased with how they adapted last week.
Heffernan praised the defending champions, who are a relatively new side this year, on how connected they were across the court and worked as a unit defensively.
‘‘They’re a really strong team right down the court.
‘‘We know that we’re just going to have to take the hits, and really be strong, and trust each other and help each other out in the circle.’’
The winner will meet the Northern Mystics in the grand final in Auckland next Saturday.
ANZ Premiership
Invercargill, tomorrow, 4pm
Southern Steel: Aliyah Dunn, Georgia Heffernan, Josie Bingham, Serina Daunakamakama, Ashleigh Poi, Skylah Tainui-Takerei, Renee Savai’inaea, Carys Stythe, Khanye’-Lii Munro-Nonoa, Jess Milne.
Mainland Tactix: Charlie Bell, Hannah Glen, Amorangi Malesala, Erikana Pedersen, Holly Mather, Parris Petera, Fa’amu Muliaga, Tatiana Day, Josie Seymour, Laura Balmer, Ash Barnett.
