Physically demanding grand final expected

Will the freshness of Harcourts give them a winning advantage over St Matthew's Collegiate in the grand final of Netball Wairarapa's premier one competition at the Genesis Recreation Centre in Masterton tomorrow night?
The fact St Matthew's will go into the match hard on the heels of a busy programme at the Lower North Island secondary schools tournament at Taita a programme which will have seen them play something like nine games in five days will undoubtedly test their mental and physical resources.
But the good news for their army of supporters is that coach Jo McKenzie believes their hectic schedule could actually have a positive impact on their grand final performance.
McKenzie was preparing her side for a quarter-final match when she talked briefly from Taita yesterday and she said her players were thriving on a diet of two games per day.
"Honestly, they seem to be improving every day," she said.
"They are all bouncing around and keen to play, I couldn't be happier in that respect," she said.
McKenzie isn't fazed either that the last two times they have played Harcourts, the college side have been on the losing end.
She simply points to the fact they lost by just the one goal the first time and three goals the second and in both games St Matthews had played themselves into a position from where victory was a very real possibility.
"We ended up losing both times but we did enough to show that we could beat them, and we're planning on it being third time lucky," she said.
McKenzie said St Matthews would not be looking to do anything different against Harcourts than what has been the game plan at the Taita tourney.
"We know we have the speed and skills to compete, it's just a matter of maintaining consistency for the whole game right through the court," she said.
"We can't have any lapses in concentration, they (Harcourts) are very good at taking advantage of that."
McKenzie says her team have played Harcourts often enough to know the grand final will be physically demanding in more ways than one.
"They (Harcourts) go hard for the ball but we can cope with that, we won't be worrying too much about that aspect of it,' she said.
Harcourts coach Geraldine Carroll says her team, who have yet to taste defeat at club level this season, have drawn from the experience of those last two close games with St Matthew's in their lead-up to the competition decider.
She said Harcourts had been guilty of too many basic errors then and they knew that if a similar situation occurred tomorrow night then they could be in trouble.
"We talked about not being complacent in those games but it's out on the court that you learn what complacency can do," she said.
"I don't think it will be an issue in the final & not at all."
While Carroll respects St Matthew's for their all-round ability she is confident that a Harcourts team playing to their potential would have the edge on them in most departments.
"We have the experience and the skill and we have to make that count," she said. "If we play smart we should win but if we don't & well, that could be a different story."
The likely squads for the grand final, which gets under way at 6pm, are:-
HARCOURTS: Carlene Karaitiana, Katie Wyeth, Emma Foote, Casey Pederson, Michaell Teahen, Lisa Butler, Sarah Brooking, Geraldine Carroll, Trisanna Campbell, Lisa Hannam, Tania Davidson.
ST MATTHEWS COLLEGIATE: Sally Mitchell, Sophie Ross, Rosie Broughton, Leanna Taiapa, Ashley McDougall, Amelia Smith, Jesse Smith, Jorja Bramley, Harriet Somerville, Tessa Clinton-Baker, Paige Drummond.