Netball: Table pressure builds for pulse

Silver Ferns defender Katrina Grant. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The Central Pulse are already into must-win territory. Defeat in tonight's round-three clash against the Southern Steel would leave the transtasman league's perennial strugglers well off the pace.

After finishing bottom of the table for the past two seasons, the Pulse have high hopes of turning their fortunes around in 2010.

But with two losses from the opening two rounds, and their assignments not getting any easier from week to week, the Pulse know they have to start making things happen for themselves, beginning in Dunedin tonight.

Silver Ferns defender Katrina Grant, who will be facing her former team tonight, said Pulse are no longer content just to give teams a good run for their money, they want to win.

"We want to get away from the Pulse of old," said Grant. "We've been waiting two weeks for a win."

While the Pulse have never beaten the Southerners, they have on a couple of occasions run the Steel closer than the form book would probably suggest they should have.

The Wellington-based side will draw plenty of inspiration from their performances in previous years.

Steel have looked fairly sharp in their opening two games, edging out West Coast Fever in round one before narrowly going down to Magic last week.

The Southern side will welcome back shooter Daneka Wipiiti this week, after the former Silver Fern sat out round two with a knee injury.

But Steel coach Robyn Broughton may opt to ease Wipiiti back in as her replacement, Julianna Naoupu did such an impressive job last week.

In tonight's other round three match the Melbourne Vixens travel to Perth to take on the Fever.