As we enter the second half of the ANZ Premiership, we talk to Trident Homes Tactix coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek about what to expect in the run towards the Finals Series and the latest injury hurdle they’ve had to clear.
A congested ANZ Premiership points ladder leaves Trident Homes Tactix coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek under no illusions about what lies ahead for the remainder of the national league.
“I think we know that any team can beat anyone on the day,” she said. “The results have been topsy turvy and it’s only going to get more intense.”
The Tactix head to Tauranga for Sunday’s Premiership clash with a Magic unit sitting just one place below them on the table in third place.
Add to that the curveball that they were thrown this week with the departure of Greer Sinclair, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the competition having injured a tendon in her foot, and the match-up promises plenty.
Paris Lokotui, who has been playing for Mainland in the Synergy Hair Netball League, steps into the side and with previous ANZ Premiership experience, Delaney-Hoshek hopes the disruption will be minimal.
“It’s not going to be perfect straight away, but Paris has joined us at training this week and fitted in really well,” she said.
Lokotui is returning from a knee injury, suffered during last year’s Premiership, but has been in Christchurch for part of her rehabilitation and Delaney-Hoshek said the defender was in good form.
“She’s worked really hard since her injury and is possibly in better shape than before in terms of her fitness scores,” she said.
“Really, it’s a straight swap for wing defence for us but there are options for us down that end of the court.”
With five wins under their belts, and a loss to both the Mystics and Stars, Delaney-Hoshek said she was happy to give her side a “pass mark” at the mid-way point of the competition.
“I think we had a bit of a discussion that we want to be more consistent so there’s been the game against the Mystics where we were with them and then let off a little bit, obviously we weren’t happy with how we went against the Stars, but overall we’re happy with the progress.
“The challenge is for us to just be a bit more consistent across the four quarters as well – making sure we’re still getting some ball in the last quarter, making sure that we’re still running our lines and doing those sorts of things all the way through to the game.”
There have been new combinations all over the court, none more so than in the attacking end with Aliyah Dunn and Te Paea Selby-Rickit a new shooting duo while captain Kimiora Poi has moved into wing attack with English international Laura Malcolm playing at centre.
“We’ve done a lot of work with that attacking end – we had to pull things right back and go from there, but they’ve definitely made good strides forward,” Delaney-Hoshek said.
“That combo between Aliyah (Dunn) and Te Paea (Selby-Rickit) is just fun to watch, and Laura and Kimi’s links are really coming along.
“I think for Kimi, playing at wing attack has certainly added to her centre game with the feeding that she’s putting into the circle – there’s some really good things happening at that end of the court.”
Defensively the Tactix have the best record in the league to date, having leaked 333 goals after seven matches with Jane Watson and Karin Burger featuring in the top statistics for deflections and intercepts.
“There have been some good signs across the board, now we’re just searching for consistency to add to our game.”
- The Trident Homes Tactix meet the Magic at Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga on Sunday at 4pm, live on Sky TV
