The Northern Marvels have found themselves in must-win territory if they are to stay in contention for the Synergy Hair Netball League Grand Final and coach Natalie Milicich said their drive to make the top two remains strong.
Having made a confident start to their campaign, the Marvels have dropped their last two outings and must now take down the four-time defending champion Central Manawa if they want to push for a top-two finish.
“We’ve talked about it this week and we certainly still have the belief that we have it in us to make the Grand Final,” she said.
“We know it’s a must win for us every week from here on in and the onus is on us to see if we can put that performance in to get us there.”
The Marvels are sitting fourth on the SHNL ladder and host the top ranked Manawa at The Trusts Arena in Henderson on Saturday.
It marks the start to a tough run home for the Marvels where the draw has them meeting Manawa twice in the next four weeks along with the Robinhood Comets and Waikato-BOP – the other two teams to round out the league’s top three.
“It certainly doesn’t get any easier for us from here but it’s part of the challenge and I know the girls are looking forward to it.”
The loss of captain Holly Mather was an early blow for the Marvels, the midcourter has been battling concussion symptoms since the second round and will be managed in her return to the court.
They have also had Alyssa-Jean Savelio out with a foot injury and with MG Mystics captain Sulu Fitzpatrick out of action through injury, the Marvels have also loaned players to their sister team including Catherine Hall who sat on the ANZ Premiership bench last week.
“Are we working at full capacity, certainly not, but it’s no different to any other team dealing with illness and injuries,” Milicich said.
“We are in a learning environment but in terms of our testing and capabilities there has definitely been improvements which has been great. I know the girls really want to get the wins on the board but as a coach I’m also looking at the bigger picture.”
She felt the Marvels were almost re-building their combinations again after a disruptive few weeks and said last week’s bye round came at a good time for her side.
Consistency in their performance was what Milicich now wanted to see with just four games remaining in the regular season.
“I’d like to see them put together four good quarters,” she said. “We’ve been able to put one or two good quarters out there and then we’ve had lulls. We need to stick to the task and believe we can do it.”
Manawa are at the top of the SHNL ladder with just one loss, ahead of the Comets, who have also dropped just one match, while the Waikato-BOP are in third place – just one point ahead of the Marvels.
“Every game will be a final for us.”
In other matches this week, the Comets host the Southern Blast while Waikato-BOP take on Mainland in Tauranga. The Synergy Hair Netball League Grand Final will be played at TSB Arena in Wellington on 14 May.