MAINLAND Tactix held onto victory against Central Pulse securing a three goal win (55-52). The Pulse were heavily undermanned heading into the clash with Te Amo Amaru-Tibble sidelined with illness, forcing the side to shuffle some players around. It was a game of two halves as the Tactix held sway for the first two terms before the visitors found their groove in the second half.

It did not take long for the Tactix to get their first goal on the board with the home side ruing their misfortunes from last week. Moments later, captain Jane Watson injected herself into the play with a nicely timed intercept across the top of the goal circle, propelling the Tactix forward once again. Within a blink of an eye, the Tactix were out to a three-goal lead. Whitney Souness opened the account for the Pulse, getting the start in goal attack as opposed to wing attack and she made her presence felt early. The game was being played at a speed of knots with the ball ping ponging up and down the court but the Tactix defence were running rampant. Watson was in just about everything with the goal keeper racking up two deflections and two intercepts in the first six minutes of the game. but up the other end, Kelly Jury was proving anything you can do, I can do better with the goal defence using her long limbs and quick footwork to win ball back and keep her side in the hunt.

The Pulse started to find their rhythm in attack, nailing four goals in a row midway through the term to level the scores. Maddy Gordon was electric around circle edge while Aliyah Dunn worked her way into the game with the two connecting seamlessly. Ellie Bird was a real workhorse for the Tactix under the post, constantly riding the bumps and physicality to hold up under the pressure. With Watson firing, Karin Burger decided it was her time to shine with an intercept of her own along the baseline with the Tactix rewarding her for her efforts to sneak out to two goal buffer. Sloppy passes in attack cost the Pulse with Charlotte Elley impressing with her lightning quick footwork to snatch an intercept as the Tactix snuck out to a four goal lead at quarter time.

It was goal for goal to start the second quarter with neither side making a change and sticking to their starting sevens. Claire Kersten was a driving force for the Pulse through the midcourt while youngster Paris Lokotui was making life hard for Samon Nathan around circle edge for the Tactix. Bird was starting to find some more freedom inside the circle against Kelera Nawai with the goal keeper often caught on the back foot. The lead extended out to five goals before the Pulse reeled it back in with some big defensive moments falling their way. But Burger was proving to be a thorn in her former teams’ side streaming through the midcourt for an intercept.

Silly errors from the Tactix were keeping the Pulse in the game with Kimiora Poi turning herself inside out but unable to keep the ball in play. each time the Tactix snuck out to a five goal lead the Pulse found a way to dwindle it down to three with Dunn proving to be a lynchpin in the goal circle. Souness was carving up the court with her speed and decision making keeping Burger and Watson guessing while up the other end Te Paea Selby-Rickit was steadily going about her business. Although Souness was struggling to convert on her opportunities she was calling the shots but it did not seem to faze the Tactix who pushed out to an eight goal buffer, the highest lead of the game.

Kersten came to life sprinting through the midcourt to reel in an intercept with Dunn capitalising on the opportunity before moments later Abby Erwood reaped the rewards with an intercept of her own. The increased defensive pressure from the Pulse was providing them with chances to go forward and score as Jury came up with a classy intercept of her own. The wheels started to fall off for the Tactix as Nathan bombed the ball over the sideline with the lead reduced to six goals midway through the third term. The shooter to shooter interplay between Dunn and Souness was causing headaches for Watson and Burger who were kept on the backfoot. The Pulse were releasing the ball with confidence and speed as they continued to peg the margin back stringing together three consecutive goals.

The intensity was up for both sides with both attacking ends firing on all cylinders. Poi was using her speed to control the flow for the Tactix while Kersten was using her steady head to weave her magic for the Pulse. It was turning into a goal for goal slog before once again the Tactix found a way to pull ahead and put a top to the Pulse’s good work.

It was a hot start to the final term with the Tactix landing the first blow off the hands of Bird with the home side more than happy to play the ball around. The ball speed from the Tactix was catching the Pulse off-guard while Souness’ inaccuracy was starting to take a toll as the home side blew back out to a 10 goal lead. The Tactix piled on the first five goals of the game with Dunn scoring the first goal of the quarter at the 11 minute mark. The Pulse rung in the changes with Jury pushing back to goal keeper and Parris Mason pulling on the goal defence bib as thing started to swing their way. The Pulse nailed seven goals in a row to round out the game but it was too little, too late as the Tactix got the job done.

It was a battle of the goal shooters with Bird sinking 46 goals at 81 per cent while Dunn was impressive with her 47 goals from 54 attempts. Although Souness was not accurate with five goals her quick hands enabled her to rack up 18 goal assists as Gordon also chimed in with a handy a 13 goal assists of her own. Samon was a key cog with her 21 goal assists for the Tactix. Jury was influential in defence with her three gains and two intercepts as Watson, Burger and Elley combined for 13 gains and five intercepts in a strong defensive showing.