Another tough day at the office is looming for Harcourts in the regional superleague netball competition.
Their 62-48 loss to PIC 2 last weekend was not exactly the start they were looking for and tomorrow at the Genesis Recreation Centre, in Masterton, they take on Wellington Girls College who were fourth
in the Wellington premier one series, one place and three points clear of PIC 2. And, what's more, Wellington Girls College are coming off the back off a whopping 75-36 win over Kapiti in the first of their superleague fixtures so confidence will be running high.
Coach Kelly Sargent is determined, however, the mindset for Harcourts tomorrow will be focused on improving their own performance rather than worrying about the quality of the opposition.
She is confident if Harcourts play to their potential they will at the very least be competitive and could even secure what would be an upset win.
"We have to back ourselves, that's all there is to it," Sargent said. "It's going to be hard work but we always knew that, you don't get anything for nothing at this level."
Sargent believes the main lesson for Harcourts from the PIC 2 defeat was the importance of working as a team.
"Individually we had some really good moments but team-wise we simply weren't up to scratch," she said. "We have to be a lot more precise in that area, and I'm sure we will be."
Sargent expects Wellington Girls College to play the game at pace with the idea of running Harcourts off their feet and therefore she sees a tight, aggressive defence as being vital to nullify the speed of their attack.
"We have to get in their faces defensively and try and slow the movement of the ball down, the more we can frustrate them the better for us," she said. "To have any chance the defence has to be tight all the way through."
Sargent believes too that Harcourts must adopt a "take no prisoners" approach in their attacking play as well, especially in the manner in which the ball is moved through the midcourt.
"We lost too much possession last weekend because we were a bit tentative with our passing and our support play and the aim is to be a lot more positive this time round," she said.
Tomorrow's action is scheduled to get under way at 3pm.
