Ready Grant relaxed in new role

New Central Pulse vice-captain Katrina Grant cannot believe her team has been installed as the outsiders to beat the Canterbury Tactix on Monday night.

The 1.86m-tall defender, who is in her first year with the Pulse after transferring from the Southern Steel, said the bookies had it wrong by listing the Tactix at $1.37 and the Pulse at $2.80 to win.

"I think they're going to lose money," she laughed.

"I don't mind going in as underdogs. It takes a bit of pressure off really.

"We'll win more than one game this year and prove we are actually quite a good team."

It's been a great off-season for the Pulse with the signing of 14-test Silver Fern Grant, former Australian shooter Jane Altschwager and England international Ama Agbeze.

Altschwager has been named captain for this year taking over from Cushla Lichtwark.

Grant, 22, said any form of captaincy at the top level was new to her, but the players in the team had made it easier.

"I've never really captained a side properly since under-15s and I don't even think that counts," she smiled.

"It's quite nice to fit into the role learning off Jane."

The Pulse were winless in a recent pre-season competition in Australia but Grant said the side learnt from the close losses.

"We just took away that we need to learn how to win. Especially in those tight matches, going down by one isn't acceptable."

The Haier Pulse have been the easybeats in the first two years of the ANZ Championship but that should change this year.

The experience they have should see them home in the tight games they failed to win last year; like when they blew a third-quarter lead against the West Coast Fever in Palmerston North and lost in extra-time to the Mystics.

Grant, who looks at home in either the goal-attack or goal-defence bib, said it did not matter where she played on Monday night as long as she was on the court.

She and Agbeze will be the likely defensive pairing with Lichtwark at wing-defence.

The Tactix are not expected to offer much this year with the losses of Jodi Brown, Sonia Mkolomoa, Larrissa Willcox and Julie Seymour.

Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie has made huge improvements with her side in the past year, but question marks still hang over the wing-attack position, which will be occupied on Monday by Ngarama Milner-Olsen.

Manawatu 20-year-old Alanah Cassidy could come into the frame at wing-attack some time this year.

Across the court they are strong in all other positions with Camilla Lees a standout at centre last season and Silver Fern Paula Griffin to partner Altschwager in the shooting circle.

Manawatu's McCausland-Durie is predicting big things for her side following the additions of Altschwager and Grant.

"We are really clear that we are aiming for the top four and everybody's got that in their sights," McCausland-Durie said.

The coach has moved into a fulltime role with the Pulse this season and the extra sessions have paid off, she said.

"I think it's made a big difference for us. Just having the daily contact.

"We've seen some really good improvements."

Despite upping her commitments with the Pulse, McCausland-Durie will still be a regular at the Manawatu premier competition on Tuesday nights to fulfil her coaching role with Tu Toa.

- © Fairfax NZ News