Pulse captain wary of ‘unbelievable’ Stars

‘‘Five points out of six; definitely a better start than we’ve had in the past.’’

Too right. Moral victories and positive signs have often been all Central Pulse captain Katrina Grant had to cling to.

No-one’s daft enough to say the Pulse are the best team in the new national netball premiership or to predict a high finish. But, as the seasoned skipper says, there have definitely been worse Pulse starts to a competition.

‘‘It’s so much better having things to work on when you’re winning, compared to the other way around,’’ Grant said ahead of tonight’s clash with the Northern Stars in Auckland.

In goal shoot Cathrine Latu and circle defenders Grant and Phoenix Karaka, the Pulse possess proven performers. So if there’s an area that’s going to take time to develop, it’s probably the midcourt.

Centre Sara Bayman is vastly experienced at international level for England, but it can be difficult to arrive in a new country and shine straight away. Around her, wing attack Whitney Souness and wing defence Claire Kersten aren’t new to the Pulse, but neither have been accustomed to buckets of court time.

In the nicest possible way, Grant describes Kersten as ‘‘a beast’’ whose performances are making life a lot easier for she and Karaka in the circle. Souness, meanwhile, is someone people are very eager to see play, after injury and the presence of older hands such as Liana Leota and Chelsea Locke limited her chances.

Wing attack is a real leadership position, a spot from which the real guns set the tone for an attack. Souness will hopefully grow into that, but the raw ingredients are there.

‘‘She’s an absolute athlete. I’ve seen what she can do, the speed that she’s got,’’ said Grant.

‘‘She’s a new breed of wing attack. She’s got that height, plus she can jump, she’s got the speed and the fitness. It’s kind of the whole package.’’

Learning to feed Latu, and fellow shooters Te Amo Amaru-tibble and Tiana Metuarau, is Souness’ challenge and one of the reasons Grant mentions potential a lot, when talking about the attack.

There have been times in the Pulse’s three games in which their attacking combinations have clicked and times when they haven’t. But they’re all so unaccustomed to working together that errors are inevitable.

The same is true of the Stars, who boast players such as Leana de Bruin, Kayla Cullen, Courtney Tairi, Malia Vaka and Maia Wilson. But where the Pulse have been able to win while they learn, the Stars have just one victory from four starts.

‘‘On paper they’re an unbelievable side but almost every single one of those girls is new to playing with each other and it’s going to take a little while,’’ Grant said.

‘‘They’ve put some quarters together that are absolutely outstanding but they haven’t been able to put a full four quarters together. When it happens, it’s going to be pretty dangerous.’’

In yesterday afternoon’s game, the Northern Mystics beat the Waikato-bay of Plenty Magic 67-62 to improve their record to 2-2. The Magic top the table with three wins and a bonus point from five games.