Pulse look sharp in beating Tactix
This year must be time for the Central Pulse netballers to deliver.
The Pulse were too good for the Mainland Tactix 52-40 in their annual pilgrimage to Palmerston North at the Arena on Sunday and looked sharp for the most part.
But that’s also been the case for the past two seasons, where they have looked great during the year, but then fallen in the final to the Southern Steel.
Last year’s heartbreaker, where the Steel scored the last seven goals of the match to win 54-53, was hard to stomach.
This Pulse team, unbeaten from three games, play well under coach Yvette Mccauslanddurie and have a strong roster, so they need to win when it counts at the end of the season.
Pulse captain Katrina Rore said they weren’t ruthless enough in the first half of Sunday’s win, but were better in the second half.
The Pulse put the Tactix away, leading by 10 or more for a large part of the game, but need to do away with the scrappy moments that cost them a bigger lead.
Before the Pulse face the Northern Stars in Auckland this week, Rore said their throughcourt attack needed work, as did their ability to find each other with the ball.
Always the perfectionist, Rore said there was still more ball they could get on attack and defence, and both their attack and defence hadn’t synchronised, so if that’s the case, there’s still room for this team to get better.
The Tactix shooting end struggled under pressure from the strong Pulse defence and at the other end, Pulse shooter Aliyah Dunn was slotting them in much easier fashion.
‘‘We were made to work for that one,’’ Rore said. ‘‘It was another defensive game, another low-scoring game, but we just had to work hard.
‘‘The Tactix came out firing this week. They have had a couple of hard blows with injury, but they really came out and made us work for it.’’
Wing attack Whitney Souness is one of the strengths of the Pulse and was leaving her opposite, Charlotte Elley, in her dust.
Souness flies up the court, is fast moving the ball and feeding the circle, and bears some resemblance to former Manawatu¯ Silver Fern Liana Leota.
But there’s also gun centre Claire Kersten, a former Palmerston North Girls’ High School player, quality young shooters Dunn and Tiana Metuarau and wing defence Karin Burger.
Burger wasn’t at her best on attack in Palmerston North, but still managed to grab four intercepts.
The Pulse won the game too without Silver Fern shooter Ameliaranne Ekenasio, who was suffering from concussion.
The Tactix have tall shooter Ellie Bird, but Rore was getting up just as high as her despite the height difference.
Bird shot 28 from 31, but Rore and Sulu Fitzpatrick made sure Bird didn’t get enough ball.
Surprisingly, the game didn’t sell out, but perhaps it was too early in the season. The club season is still weeks away.
The Central Manawa national league team, which featured young Manawatu¯ players Rochelle Fourie and Jessica Fagan-pease, thrashed the Mainland Comets 57-32 in the curtainraiser.