The Good Oil Tactix’ ANZ Premiership destiny remains in their own hands and captain Jane Watson wants to keep it that way.
The second-placed Tactix are about to embark on a demanding road trip to Auckland and Wellington where their league Grand Final hopes hang in the balance.
Win both games against the Mystics (Sunday) and Pulse (Monday) and the Tactix will make Premiership history by reaching the top two for the very first time.
And Watson is keen for her team to set their own path in the last two rounds of regular season.
“We have the ability to get ourselves there and we’d like to win these games and not have to rely on other results,” she said.
“If anything, we’re really looking forward to these two games and getting the job done.
“This is what we train for and what we’ve been working towards, so we can’t wait.”
The Tactix got the better of the Mystics, by one goal, when they met in Round 5 but Watson said the northerners would be riding high on confidence after last week’s win over the table-topping Pulse.
“They’re a team with a lot of confidence at the moment and we know their strengths, but we’ve also taken big steps forward since then,” she said.
They had a win over the Magic last week where they showed a masterclass in the opening quarter and finished strongly, but have taken this week to iron out a few lulls that blemished the middle stages of their game.
“We were able to adapt when we needed to and came home really strongly which has been a pleasing part of our game,” she said.
Watson said it was good to have a full week to prepare as they put in the hard yards ahead of the penultimate round.
“I wouldn’t say it’s nice,” she said with a laugh.
“We’ve put everything out there this week but it’s been really good to have that time to look at things and work on areas that maybe didn’t work so well.”
Her own game has seen a shift back out to goal defence this year and the Silver Ferns’ vice-captain remains one of the cleanest defenders in the league. She also has the most deflections so far this season and alongside Temalisi Fakahokotau forms one of the toughest defensive walls.
It has taken some time to reacquaint herself with the change in position but the 1.81m defender is feeling more comfortable with the “switches and court work” as well as bringing the ball through court on attack.
“I think I got a little carried away at the start always wanting the ball, but it’s a different part of the game that I’ve enjoyed this year.”
Both she and Fakahokotau must now work together to combat the height of Mystics shooting star Grace Nweke who shoulders the scoring load for the northern side.
Watson said it would take a “collective” defensive effort from all seven players on court to stem the flow into the 1.93m shooter.
Backing up it up on Monday night against the defending champion Pulse side will be the ultimate test of the Tactix’ mettle.
“We’ve done the double-headers before so we know what’s ahead and we’re focussing on what we need to put out there.”
