One team knows the feeling of playing in a grand final all too well.
The other is getting its first taste of the ANZ Premiership’s championship decider.
The Central Pulse will play the Mainland Tactix for the title at Stadium Southland in Invercargill tomorrow.
Originally part of a finals weekend featuring all six teams, it will be the only competition game played following the heightened Covid-19 alert levels.
For the Pulse it is the fourth consecutive year it has reached the final — having played in this game every year since the competition split from the transtasman league.
Of those finals it had a big loss — played in Invercargill — a last-second heartbreaker (both against the Steel), before finally winning last year against the Northern Stars.
The player that hit that last-second heartbreaking goal in 2018 — Te Paea Selby-Rickit — lines up for the Tactix.
She and fellow former Steel player Jane Watson bring finals experience to a team playing in its first grand final. They will be key players at either end for the Tactix in this one.
Watson’s partnership with Temalisi Fakahokotau is key in the Tactix defensive circle.
Both are rangy and aggressive players, capable of disrupting attacks.
Facing them is an equally impressive Pulse shooting duo in Aliyah Dunn and Ameliaranne Ekenasio.
Ekenasio’s return will be important, having missed the side’s last meeting, when the Tactix claimed a 39-32 win.
At the other end, Selby-Rickit pairs with robust goal shoot Ellie Bird, who will be well-matched by classy Pulse defenders Katrina Rore and Kelly Jury.
How well the midcourts can feed their shooters and penetrate the defence could be key.
The Pulse has a key returner there in Maddy Gordon — who also missed the last outing — while Kimiora Poi brings quality at centre for the Pulse.
The game is set to begin at 6.45pm.
