Harcourts should chalk up second win

Harcourts should chalk up their second successive win in the regional superleague netball competition when they play Taita at the Walter Nash Stadium tomorrow.
Their five-goal win over a well-drilled Wellington Girls College side last Saturday was a huge confidence booster to Harcourts and they will be expected to outclass a Taita side which has suffered hefty defeats in both their superleague games to date.
A feature of the Harcourts performance last weekend was the agility and speed of centre Katie Wyeth and the accurate goal shooting of Geraldine Carroll.
Wyeth was a veritable energiser bunny with her amazingly high workrate on both attack and defence while Carroll was super cool under intense pressure from defence which had a clear edge on her in height but had no answer to her astute positioning.
Making Carroll's influence even more valuable was the fact her shooting partner, player-coach Kelly Sargent, was not her usual reliable self in that department, something which Sargent readily conceded in an after-match interview.
"Thank god for Hubba (Carroll), she stepped up to the mark marvellously," Sargent said.
"She had a huge game, and just as well too!"
Sargent is keen for Harcourts to make a strong start in tomorrow's game, certainly better than they did against Wellington Girls College when they went into the second quarter trailing by six goals.
"We want to get into the habit of starting well because against the better teams you can't afford to get too far behind at any stage," she said.
"Tomorrow is a good opportunity to get that right."
Kuranui College defender Te Ata Phillips is likely to be part of the starting line-up against Taita in place of Sarah Brooking, who heads overseas on Sunday and won't be available for Harcourts for the remainder of the season.
Brooking was another to shine against Wellington Girls College with her penchant for picking up tips and intercepts through her ability to be in the right place at the right time. Her experience will be missed but Phillips is a talented youngster who should relish the chance to show her wares.