Tactix coach confident despite losing import

Canterbury Tactix coach Helen Mahon-Stroud is playing down the departure of the team's only import ahead of their season-opener against the Central Pulse in Christchurch on Monday night.

Australian defender Peta Stephens, who captained the Queensland Firebirds last year, has returned to Brisbane after succumbing to a chronic shoulder injury.

Stephens, 32, injured the shoulder soon after the Tactix assembled in mid-January in Christchurch, and aggravated it again at the Queenstown preseason tournament last month.

A replacement player has not yet been found, and Mahon-Stroud will be restricted to 11 players for the first round ANZ Championship game.

"We have three fantastic circle defenders [Charlotte Kight, Victoria Smith and Anna Galvan], and I have confidence in all of them," Mahon-Stroud said.

"It certainly has been a factor losing a player 10 days out from the competition, but we've got a really strong unit of 11."

However, the loss of Stephens, who was not re-signed this year by new Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke, is a blow. The Tactix were already rebuilding their defence after standout import Sonia Mkoloma left at the end of last season for the NSW Swifts, and Larrissa Willcox shifted to the Mystics.

Mahon-Stroud acknowledged the upcoming challenge for her untested squad was vast following the retirement of Julie Seymour and Jodi Brown's switch to the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic.

"Yes, we have lost a number of what you'd call marquee players, but it has provided opportunities for other players to step into those gaps," she said.

"We've focused on blending the old with the new. But at the same time we've built on our team unity with players who have that work ethic and ability to pull together as a team."

She believes the Tactix can challenge this year, even though some commentators have written her side off.

"The underdog is a role some teams have played very well, and I think this team has the ability to do that."

- © Fairfax NZ News