The Good Oil Tactix completed a successful weekend by finishing undefeated at the Te Wānanga o Raukawa hosted pre-season tournament in Ōtaki.
The only blemish to come out of the weekend was an ankle injury to shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit, which will continue to be monitored closely this week.
The goal attack rolled her ankle on day two at Ōtaki, during the 64-56 win over the Northern Mystics, and coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek said they would be monitoring her progress this week.
“It blew up pretty quickly and was a real black and blue, so we’ll see how the ankle settles this week and go from there,” Delaney-Hoshek said.
“We’ve got a bit of a break over Easter so that will be a chance to have a good rest and make a plan going forward.”
Selby-Rickit’s injury saw Jess Prosser and training partner Hannah Glen both pick up plenty of minutes on court, joining shooter Ellie Bird in the circle.
“I was really pleased with how Jess and Hannah both came on and particularly in some tight, pressured situations,” Delaney-Hoshek said.
“And that’s what the weekend was about, experiencing that game time together and getting everyone out on court.”
The Tactix left Ōtaki unbeaten following their win over the Mystics, a 55-39 victory over the Pulse, and a 49-49 draw with the Stars in their final outing on Sunday.
They have now played four of the ANZ Premiership teams in pre-season matches leading into their 2021 campaign and Delaney-Hoshek was pleased with where her side was placed.
“It was such a good opportunity to get a feel of the other teams in real time,” she said of their time in Ōtaki. “It’s a looks a lot different on video, so to get out there on court against the Pulse, Mystics and Stars gave us the chance to look at an opposition and then test out a few strategies and put it into play.”
It has been a busy pre-season however, including two earlier games against the Steel and a match against the Pulse in Christchurch, and Delaney-Hoshek said the side would be looking forward to a break over Easter to rest a few injury niggles.
The Good Oil Tactix open their 2021 ANZ Premiership campaign against the Southern Steel in Invercargill on April 18.
Te Wānanga o Raukawa pre-season tournament results:
The Good Oil Tactix 55 vs Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse
The Good Oil Tactix 64 vs Northern Mystics 56
The Good Oil Tactix 49 vs Robinhood Stars 49
