Tactix lose another defender to injury
The Mainland Tactix have early season issues in their defence end with off-season recruit Temalisi Fakahokotau ruled out of the season opener with a back injury.
Fakahokotau was poised to start alongside Zoe Walker in the defensive circle against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Hamilton on Sunday, but has been scratched due to an irritated disc.
She has been replaced by former Tactix and Southern Steel shooter Sophia Fenwick, who transitioned into the defensive end last season.
Fenwick, who is a member of Netball Mainland’s second tier Beko League team, is almost certain to see court-time in the ANZ Premiership opener.
Outside of Walker, the Tactix will have a raw defensive circle.
Rookie Kate Lloyd, 19, will act as short-term cover for skipper Jess Moulds until she recovers from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) suffered last year.
There is no timeline on a return for fringe Silver Fern Moulds, who sustained the injury playing in a practice match for New Zealand A against England last August.
Tactix coach Sue Hawkins said Fakahokotau’s back injury wasn’t serious and hoped she would be available for their second round match against the Northern Stars at Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena on April 2.
Hawkins said it was a long campaign and was wary of aggravating Fakahokotau’s injury and risking her when she wasn’t right.
She picked up the niggle during the league’s pre-season tournament in Otaki, two weeks ago, and sat out the Tactix last match there as a precaution.
With Moulds and Fakahokotau missing, either Lloyd or Fenwick will be handed a starting defensive bib and tasked with marking Magic’s South African international shooter Lenize Potgieter.
Fakahokotau, who played two tests for the Silver Ferns in 2014, moved south to the Tactix in a bid to revive her career.
She struggled to reproduce the impact from her 2014 debut season at the Mystics over the past two campaigns.