A new mental toughness has helped Mainland reach its third Synergy Hair Netball League Grand Final and coach Geni Ah Tong hopes it will take them into new territory with a maiden title.
Mainland head to Wellington for Saturday’s season decider against five-time champions Central Manawa, the game to be played at TSB Arena.
They are the only team the red-and-blacks have lost to this year, going down by two points last week in the last round of the regular season, and playing at home will be an advantage for Manawa.
Ah Tong said it meant a lot to the Mainland region to reach their third final, and she puts their success so far down to a change in mindset.
“I’ve been in the programme for quite some time, and I feel like what has been missing from our girls is that mental toughness,” she said.
“So we’ve brought that into our training environment this year, just a lot of pressure scenarios, putting the girls under pressure and seeing what they do at trainings. I think that’s been part of our success.”
Ah Tong said their ability to “stay in the fight” had led to some crucial wins in what had been a shorter season than in the past.
“I’ve actually quite loved the shorter competition – the shorter campaign meant I’ve had to change the programme, and it made me look at some things in a different way.”
Mainland had two byes starting their season, so Ah Tong ensured they had plenty of “hit-outs” so they could hit the ground running. They finished at the top of the points table with the best defensive record on the six-team league and were unbeaten until their last clash, coming within two of Manawa.
“I think we’ve progressed massively since the start of the season, not only what you’ve seen on court but just the off-court stuff too. On court, all the girls are just competing for a position and the girls are thriving and learning off each other. I think that’s been massive for us this year.”
Ah Tong feels her team has been able to “absorb the pressure” this season and they will need to do so against a Manawa team riding high on confidence, after coming from behind to secure their finals berth, and playing in front of a home crowd.
Last week, Mainland were strong out of the blocks but faded through the middle stages of the match when Manawa tightened their defensive efforts to stop the red-and-blacks flow on attack.
Shooter Te Ata Hassan is a key figure for Mainland and her two-point super shots in the dying stages of the game almost pushed her side ahead of Manawa.
The hosts however will be hoping to call on their own super shot star with Central Pulse attacker Amorangi Malesala featuring for Manawa last week, landing all six of her two-point attempts.
Mainland captain Kate Littlejohn said her team “lost our way in the middle” when they last met Manawa and it would be an area to look at ahead of the Grand Final.
“We were a bit stagnant on attack,” she said. “We need to be able to recognise when we lose our momentum and turn it around on court.”
Manawa is the most successful club in the league’s history, reaching eight Grand Finals, including this year’s match, and claiming the spoils five times. They met Mainland previously in 2017 and 2022, winning both encounters.
The match will also see a number of New Zealand U21 triallists able to take the court with Mainland’s Josie Seymour, Taina Day and Sienna Stowers-Smith all named to take part in this month’s trials along with Manawa’s Phoenix Schwalger, Sarah Guiney and Pulse’s Laura Balmer who turned out for Manawa last week.