NETBALL - Latu's big goal is more sleep

Northern Mystics goal shoot Cathrine Latu said when she's off her game, it eats away at her and she can't sleep at night.
Despite a 90 per cent accuracy rate in last week's 54-50 win over the Central Pulse, the Kawakawa product said she was not happy with her shooting and wanted to improve it for their next game against the West Coast Fever.
A full-strength Mystics contingent leave for Perth this afternoon for Monday's third round of the ANZ Championship, when the team hope to back up their first win of the season.
Latu said: "All 12 players are trying really hard to make it out on court - and it's good to have that pressure at training."
The pressure was getting to the 23-year-old, who could not understand why her shooting felt so different to what it looked like on the replay of last week's match.
"It looked better than it felt," she said. "I feel like I'm faking it when I get it, rather than just letting it go - I don't usually do that."
While Latu is looking to position herself better on court and shoot more fluidly, she said the team are aiming to stick to their game plan - something they failed to do last week.
"We would do something well from training, and then we would go away from the game plan and do something else - we need to be consistent." Part of that plan is moving the ball low and fast, to combat the height the Fever have at both ends of the court. Goal shoot Caitlin Bassett stands at 1.92m, while goal keep Susan Fuhrmann towers over shooters at 1.96m.
After arriving in New Zealand recently, English import Pam Cookey made her Mystics debut against the Pulse, coming on for goal attack Grace Rasmussen in the third quarter. Once her new team discovered how quick she could deliver the ball, Cookey proved invaluable in the fourth quarter, shooting 14 goals from 16 attempts.
Cookey's addition has created more options for the Mystics aside from the Rasmussen-Latu combination in the goal circle.
"Grace is playing really well too at the moment, and I wouldn't be surprised if you see both her and Pam on court," Latu said.
Fever lost both their opening matches and sit at the bottom of the ladder, but last week's match against the Canterbury Tactix suggested the home side will be strong opponents for the seventh-placed Mystics on the first leg of their string of away games.
The long trip to Perth should not hinder the Mystics on Monday however, Latu said.
"Perth is as far away as you can get to in the ANZ Championships. But every team has to travel - it's the preparation that is important."
The Mystics have a tough and hectic schedule coming up - flying out today for Monday's game at Challenge Stadium, and returning to Auckland on Tuesday before leaving for Sydney on Saturday, when they will play the 2008 premiers NSW Swifts on April 27.