It is a special – albeit slightly strange – weekend in the Heffernan household.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
It put parents, Annette and Noel, in a \u2018\u2018sticky situation\u2019\u2019, but after the proud parents have made the trip to four Thunderbirds games already this season, they will head to Invercargill tomorrow.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018What are the odds of that?\u2019\u2019 Georgia Heffernan said of playing at the same time as her sister.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I\u2019m so happy to have them at the game this weekend. I know they\u2019ll be sitting there with a screen in front of them watching another game as well.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Hopefully we\u2019ll step off the court and we\u2019ll both have wins.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
After six years with the Steel, Heffernan – who will captain the Steel with Kimiora Poi sidelined – is preparing for her first playoffs.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Having Wendy is so great,\u2019\u2019 Heffernan said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Wendy\u2019s messaging – just to embrace it and all the work that we\u2019ve done over the season, we\u2019re so ready for it.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018But also being ready and prepared for that pressure that we\u2019ll put on ourselves, but we\u2019ve all got each other\u2019s backs. \u2018\u2018We\u2019re so excited. We just have so much belief within the group.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
They beat the Tactix 56-54 last week to make the elimination final against the same opposition.<\/p>\n
It was a \u2018\u2018pretty weird\u2019\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We\u2019ve just got so much belief in the group that we can go and do that again.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Also we didn\u2019t play the way we wanted to that whole 60 minutes, so I think if we can put out a whole 60 minute performance, it\u2019ll be an awesome game.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We\u2019ve just been so focused on what we can do better so we\u2019re feeling really ready for it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Ash Barnett and Laura Balmer are one of the toughest defensive circles, giving Heffernan and in-form Aliyah Dunn a test.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018They\u2019re a really strong team right down the court.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We know that we\u2019re just going to have to take the hits, and really be strong, and trust each other and help each other out in the circle.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
The winner will meet the Northern Mystics in the grand final in Auckland next Saturday.<\/p>\n