“We Just Need to Win” says Haier Pulse Captain Katrina Grant

Media Release
14 June 2013

“We Just Need to Win” says Haier Pulse Captain Katrina Grant

Haier Pulse captain Katrina Grant can’t wait for Monday night’s all-or-nothing return match with the Canterbury Tactix, after enjoying a well-earned rest with no game last weekend. She and her team had the luxury of being able to reflect on a job well done, following their outstanding 62-45 victory at Christchurch’s CBS Arena, while their opponents endured yet more misery, going down 79-62 to the Steel in Dunedin.

The bye came at a convenient time for the Haier Pulse, with maximum points required from their final two games to stay in the hunt for their first-ever appearance in the play-offs. It wasn’t a complete holiday, however, with normal training during the week, before a four-day break to recharge the batteries, both mentally and physically.

“It was a ‘bye weekend’, rather than a ‘bye week’, as we trained like normal and then got Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off,” explained Grant. “It was a massive mental break for us. Everyone who went home spent time with family and friends and it was good for the girls to get out of their normal environments.”

“We came back to a normal training week and it’s been good as everyone seems more into it. It was a full netball-free weekend for me, so I didn’t watch the Steel or the Magic, although a few of the girls did watch the games. The Mystics could have done it, but the Magic are classy and if they really need to they can put their foot down and pick it up and they obviously did that in the last quarter.”

The focus now is firmly on the Round 13 clash at Porirua’s Te Rauparaha Arena, the home of the Haier Pulse, with the team sitting in sixth spot, level on points with the Steel, but behind on goal difference. Grant knows that only a win will keep her team’s season alive going into the final round, and worrying too much about the margin of victory could see them come unstuck.

“First and foremost we have to get a win. Winning by 40 is just daunting and I don’t think we should even focus on this or even discuss it amongst ourselves. If we just have our game flow, you don’t know what could happen. Our shooters are so good that they could do it. If everyone’s on song at the same time on the same day anything could happen.”

Although Caitlin Thwaites (87.5%) and Donna Wilkins (91.1%) have been prolific in the shooting circle, the defensive partnership of Grant and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit has been equally important, with the pair amongst the league’s best for deflections and intercepts. Grant is in second place for both these statistics, behind Geva Mentor of the Melbourne Vixens, but is quick to highlight her partner’s performances as a key factor in the team’s winning run.

“Hoochie (Selby-Rickit) is having a great season; I love just watching her. She kind of trots back and picks up the ball and I have no idea how she does it, but she does. You can’t complain having a defence partner like that. She knows what’s she’s doing and seems to pick it up at crucial times. She just loves the glory!”

One of the features of this year’s ANZ Championship has been the challenge posed to defences by some extremely tall and accurate shooters, but Grant is taking it all in her stride, despite being confined to a moon boot between games as she battles a troublesome foot injury.

“Every week I seem to be analysing someone who’s between 5 and 15cms taller than me which is unusual, but hey it’s part of the game now. You just have to thrive off those games where everyone is shorter. It doesn’t really help when you don’t get to jump all week and then you have to do 100 jumps in a game, but as everyone says, the game is getting faster and stronger every year. It’s definitely fun putting the jumps in.”

With attention now turning to the remaining games against the Tactix and Steel, Grant feels the team is in as good a space as ever before, with the players feeding off their achievements to date.

“It’s quite nice being in a position on the table where we are in a position of significance; it’s massive for us. We’ve won more games than we’ve ever won (6) and that’s great. Team morale is good, everyone’s getting along and it’s fun. Now all we have to do is win…”

The Haier Pulse play the Canterbury Tactix at a SOLD OUT Te Rauparaha Arena, home of the Haier Pulse, on Monday 17 June at 7.40pm.

Keep up to date with all the latest news from the Haier Pulse by logging on to www.pulse.org.nz, www.facebook.com/Haier.Pulse and twitter @HaierPulse.

Match reports and statistics are also available from www.anz-championship.com

ENDS

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