Co-captain Kelly Jackson has been an inspiring figure during a challenging season for the Pulse. Photo: PhotoWellington
With a trophy up for grabs and the celebration of Fa’amu Ioane’s 100-match milestone, Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse are primed for a big ANZ Premiership netball outing against the Southern Steel in Invercargill on Monday.
In a tribute to late coaching legend Robyn Broughton, who had a strong influence at both franchises, the Pulse and Steel will compete for the Robyn Broughton Legacy Trophy once a season with the inaugural contest taking place on Monday.
To back up the occasion, top-line wing defence Ioane will notch her 100th national league outing, leaving the Pulse with everything to play for.
``Robyn was such a special lady who contributed so much to both the Steel and the Pulse, and with this being the inaugural game it is an honour to be a part of it,’’ Pulse co-captain Kelly Jackson said.
``And it’s also a very special occasion for Mu (Ioane) and her whanau. She’s such a huge part of our team, loveliest person off the court and the hardest worker on the court, so it would be great to get a win for her.
``But we go in with our guard up, you can never under-estimate the Steel. They’ve got some quality players and they’ve also got their home crowd behind them which we know can be daunting and can be a big influence on their team, so the aim is just to keep the crowd quiet.’’
With just four rounds remaining of the regular season, it is an important phase in the push for a top-three spot and a place in the Finals Series.
``I think we’ve got more in the tank and are making good progress,’’ Jackson said.
``I don’t think we’ve put out the perfect 60-minute performance yet. There’s always lots to work on, and lots came out of the Stars (previous) game where we felt we might have been exposed in some areas. But I’m really confident we can tick those boxes and put out another good performance this weekend.
``We need to win our last four games and hopefully win big because you never know, it could come down to goal differential in the end if it’s a tight race for the top three.’’
The Pulse emerged from a dogged scrap with the Stars to eventually prevail with a three-goal win, a close shave in some respects but from an experience which could have a silver lining.
``The Stars performed really well and put us under really good pressure. Going into the crunch time of the season it’s crucial that we get put under those sorts of tests because we can only get better from it,’’ Jackson said.
During a campaign with a difference, in terms of major injury disruptions, the ever-relaxed Jackson, 27, is having a stellar season where she currently tops the rebound, deflection and intercept count across all-comers in the league.
``We’ve had lots of fun and it’s great that we’ve been able to absorb the challenges, keep trucking along and keep getting wins on the board,’’ she said.
``If someone told us at the start of the season we’d be sitting in second place and have four of our contracted players out on the sidelines for the majority of that time…. I just look back and am really proud of the way we’ve be able to keep holding our heads high and keep pushing for excellence from each other.
``Claire Kersten, Kiana Pelasio and Martina (Salmon) have been our life-savers, they’ve all stepped up and we’re very thankful and grateful for numerous people who have come into our environment without having done a pre-season with us, they’ve all been excellent.’’
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