Mindset will be a key factor when the Trident Homes Tactix make one last push for hosting rights of the ANZ Premiership Grand Final.
Guaranteed of a place in the Finals Series, they head to Wellington to meet Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse in what will be the last game of the league’s regular season and 60 minutes of netball to determine which of the two teams will host next month’s final.
Victory over the Pulse on Monday would mean this Kimiora Poi-led side has done what no other Tactix team has done, in bringing the Premiership decider to Christchurch.
They have already enjoyed their most successful regular season in the club’s history, but coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek said while they had never been in this position before, the job was not yet finished, and the focus was solely on this week’s match at TSB Arena in Wellington.
“We obviously talked about (hosting rights) a while back, but we’ve made a conscious effort to stay in the present at the moment because this is the game that matters,” she said.
The two-goal loss to the AVIS Magic last week, while not ideal, had ensured the Tactix had a strong build-up to what Delaney-Hoshek expected as another physical game this week.
“The Magic brought a physical game but it’s a good lead in really because that’s what it’s going to be like against the Pulse,” she said.
“We’ve got to be ready to know that that’s what’s going to happen on Monday, and the Pulse are going to ramp it up as well.
“Our training has been based around that kind of defence, but you’ve got to have the right mindset for it. It’s going to be 60 minutes of it, and you know you’re going to be working hard for that length of time.”
She said they had been training hard this week and building towards the top-of-the-table battle was a scenario they discussed earlier in the season.
“These are the big games now. We’ve had a great season and we’ve put ourselves in a really good position and now this is where it matters.
“What we’ve realised is we’ve done all the hard yards to get here so now it’s about we’ve got this opportunity which is really positive, and we’ll just go for it.”
They had identified areas to improve on since last week and had been “training hard” heading into their last match of the regular season.
“We actually scored 70 per cent of our turnovers (against the Magic) but our structure work wasn’t the best, our balance on court, so we’ve been working on that a bit,” Delaney-Hoshek said.
“Our centre pass off has been really strong all year, but it wasn’t last week so we just need to get that back up to where it needs to be.”
The Tactix head into the match at the top of the league ladder – sitting on the same win and losses (including a bonus point) as the Pulse and both teams are guaranteed to extend their seasons into the Finals Series. Third place is yet to be determined with the MG Mystics and Magic fighting for a place in the playoffs.
- The Trident Homes Tactix meet Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse at TSB Arena in Wellington at 7.30pm on Monday, live on Sky Sport.
