Netball: Mental toughness will be decider says coach

By JULIE ASH

Flames coach Margaret Foster believes mental toughness will be the key in her side's battle with the Force in Christchurch on Sunday.

The match, expected to be the closest in the second round, sees several current and former Silver Ferns go head to head.

"We are pretty evenly matched in a lot of areas," Foster said. "I think it will just come down to who gives the most turnovers to the opposition."

Both the Canterbury Flames and the North Harbour Force won their opening game of the National Bank Cup.

But the Flames' 53-27 win over the Otago Rebels was a lot more convincing than the Force's 43-42 win over the Shakers.

The result would help to motivate the northerners, Foster said.

"That can work to their advantage ... as a player coming off an ugly game where you don't do well, that can lead to a bit of soul searching and can really work to a team's advantage.

"But at the end of the day it is all about the head gear and who has got that mental toughness."

Foster said the loss of former Silver Fern Belinda Charteris, who ruptured her Achilles tendon in the side's opening match and ruling her out for the rest of the season, was a major blow to the team.

However, she has been impressed by the progress of young Flames defender Joanna McCaw, sister of All Black Ritchie McCaw.

"I was really impressed with the way that, after Belinda went down, Joanna came through and had a good effect on the game.

"Every time I seem to play her we tend to just take off, which is good."

For the Force the match will be a chance to make amends for their error-ridden performance against the Shakers.

"I really think that was a wake-up call for us," Force defender Linda Vagana said.

"We can't rely on our past reputation to get us through. I think a lot of us are in a certain stage of our netball careers, we know each other so well and a lot of us have been together for a long time. But perhaps we have to put the relationship bit aside and kind of get down to business."

In other matches this weekend the Western Flyers line up against the Auckland Diamonds in Napier. Following their 48-40 loss against the Magic in their opening match, the Diamonds will be looking for a comfortable win to keep them in the running for a semifinal sport.

Although relatively young and inexperienced the Flyers side does boast former Australian squad member, shooter Joanne Morgan, who should give the Diamonds defenders a run for their money.

In tomorrow's other match the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic should prove too strong for Lois Muir's young Otago Rebels side in Tauranga.

On Sunday, the Shakers, who will have taken plenty of confidence from their epic battle against the fancied Force, will need to come out with all guns blazing if they are to topple defending champions the Southern Sting in Wellington.

National Bank Cup squads and draw