Sydneysider Lili Gorman-Brown has enjoyed the opportunity to expand her game with the Pulse. Photo: Masanori Udagawa
Out of contention for the Finals Series has not lessened the intent of Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse and the opportunity to play a spoiling role in the final rounds of the ANZ Premiership netball league.
With three rounds of the regular season remaining, the Pulse will miss making the Finals Series for just the second time in the 10-year history of the competition. Rebuilding after losing the heart of their team to off-shore leagues in the off-season has seen incremental shifts forward this campaign but not quite quickly enough for the Pulse to make a case. But they can now do that in other ways.
That starts with a clash against the table-topping Tactix in Palmerston North on Saturday evening.
``We have nothing to lose, so if we can keep pushing to be better each week and mess up the table a little bit it’s a good goal to have…..go out there and give it everything and hopefully get a few wins at the end,’’ Pulse midcourter Lili Gorman-Brown said.
The Pulse put in probably their best outing of the season in the latest round against the Mystics but, in a constant theme, couldn’t quite nail a full 60-minute performance.
``It’s a hard one,’’ Gorman-Brown said. ``We’ve got so many different people from different places in our team……we’re trying really hard, trying to get better each week and that is showing.
``We’ve been fighting it out with other teams with most of our losses being under 10 goals. We are in games and we just need to push that bit more to make sure we’re in it for the whole 60 minutes, it’s certainly not from lack of trying.
``For us, it’s all about that whole 60 minutes. We were in that game against the Mystics for probably 56 minutes and it was the last four minutes that unfortunately let us down and it ended up blowing out. That meant we had to go for two-point shots because we were going for the win rather than a bonus point loss.’’
The former NSW Swifts player, Sydneysider Gorman-Brown, 26, is grateful for the opportunity to dip her toes into the water on this side of the Tasman, rating the general play as ``quite physical’’ and the standard high. She has enjoyed pitting herself against and learning to adapt to a diverse range of players and styles.
``It’s definitely been different playing over here compared to Australia but, to be honest, it is making me a better player,’’ she said. ``It’s adding things to my game that I probably didn’t naturally do and I’ve really enjoyed learning and growing and being around the girls in the team environment.
``Not getting the wins has made it quite tough at times not having my family here but I have super close friends now in the Pulse and living with Parris (Mason) has helped a lot. It has been a different experience for me living out of home, and not having people out of netball close by, sometimes can be challenging but we have great relationships within our team, so I’m super lucky that I have support here as well.
``For me, it’s just giving it everything I can this season and then seeing what happens after that. I would obviously love another contract whether that’s here at Pulse or elsewhere, I am just pushing to improve my game, see what happens and where that takes me.’’
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