"It's not all doom and gloom and even though time-wise we're about halfway through the season, we've played five games and so there's still time to pick things up."
Despite round seven of the competition commencing today, the Magic will once again not take the court, with the Southern Steel calling off both of their fixtures against the Waikato side under Covid protocols.
But the constant ups and downs that have plagued the season so far is something that Kersten has learned to take in her stride, managing to see the positives.
She points to the fact that a considerably wider range of players have had the opportunity to take the court for the Magic this year due to the Omicron outbreak, including Magic and Silver Ferns veteran Leana de Bruin who, at 44, is the oldest player to ever play at the elite domestic level in Aotearoa.
"We've had some really experienced players who might not have played for the last few years but they've had experience at ANZ level before, and a lot of them had played at the Magic before as well so it's nice to know that they can slot in really easily," explains Kersten.
"At the same time we've had some NNL [National Netball League] players come in as well."
Amidst the changes, remaining constant has been her combination with midcourter and captain Sam Winders, whom she alternates alongside between the centre and wing defence positions seamlessly.
The duo have played together for the Silver Ferns, but Kersten is enjoying the opportunity to build a strong on-court connection with her.
Having the ability to forge solid combinations that can be translated into the international space is a welcome prospect to Kersten, who donned the black dress for the Ferns' Quad Series campaign in England earlier this year and hopes to be there again at the Commonwealth Games in July.
"It's definitely a positive, I don't think it was necessarily the driving force behind my decision but it's a nice byproduct of the move."
Kersten credits the Magic's rigorous training schedule which, in addition to the usual gym and conditioning sessions, also contains a full practice game every week, as good preparation for the physically demanding programme at the Commonwealth Games.
"In a Commonwealth Games campaign you've got to be able to back it up day after day after day so it definitely is good preparation for hopefully that situation in a few months."
While the goal is to wear the New Zealand uniform when the plane leaves for Birmingham in July, right now Kersten's keeping her mind set on helping her Magic side climb the ANZ Premiership table during the remainder of the season - with her cool equanimity leading the way.
"It continues to be a challenge and I'm sure there will be a few more thrown at us but that's just life at the moment, so you've just got to get on with it."
