Mojo Pulse Retain Positive Outlook   8 May 2015

Taking it one game at a time means just that for a frustrated Mojo Pulse who remain intent on redeeming their ANZ Championship netball season, starting with theMainland Tactix in Porirua on Monday.

With just four rounds of the regular season remaining, the talented but under-achieving team have entered must-win territory if they are to fulfil their aspirations of a top-three finish in the New Zealand conference and a place in the play-offs.

Inconsistency has let the Pulse down throughout the season, costly lapse proving the difference between winning and losing which has left them in a precarious position coming to the business end of proceedings.

Captain Katrina Grant, who has shown strong individual form throughout the season, retains an unyielding belief in her team and their ability to get the job done. Her fervent wish is for four wins on the trot but knows all too well that is easier said than done.

“We’re a very competitive side with some very competitive people in our side and a very competitive coach,” she said. “There’d be no point in us even turning up anymore if we didn’t have the mindset (of making the top three).

“If you start looking at the bigger picture, you start over-analysing and over-thinking and that means there’s too much going on. We have to take it one game at a time, no doubt about it and just doing it, concentrating on doing the little things well and doing them well enough to win.”

The Pulse have lost several games by narrow margins, Grant admitting the manner of the losses highlighting an increasing sense of frustration. “Frustration is definitely very high on the list of what’s been going on because we know we’re a good side,” she said.

“We’re a good side on paper, we train well, we haven’t been playing very badly but there are just moments in games when we’re lapsing or losing concentration in key moments which are making us lose games. And we need to stop those pretty quickly otherwise the top three is going to be gone.

“It’s so small……little inaccuracies that we can fix, it’s not like anyone’s completely beating us. I think sometimes we’re beating ourselves."

Coming up against the winless Tactix won’t add any measure of comfort for the Pulse, who will carry the burden of pressure and expectation into the game. The Tactix also have the ability to spring a surprise and have caused problems for the Pulse in the past.

“They have played some very impressive patches of netball,” Grant said. “You can never count the Tactix out and they are one team that we certainly don’t because they have beaten us the last couple of seasons. There’s just no way we’re going to take these guys lightly, they’ve got a lot of players we’ve got to be wary of.”

Despite their rocky season, there is still a good vibe in the Pulse camp and they remain upbeat about their prospects in the coming weeks. “We do actually spend a lot of time together, especially those that live in Wellington," Grant said.

“We go to the basketball (Wellington Saints) together, we go to Hurricanes (rugby) games together and have nights out together for dinner.

“We’re lucky in that sense that we all do get along and it makes it that little bit better when you do get to training. It gives you the opportunity to leave the previous game behind in the sense of the frustration and you move on and means we’re not lingering on anything which is good because it can be really detrimental to a team to hang on to your hang-ups of past games.”

ENDS

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