MATCH PREVIEW | Saracens Mavericks vs Severn Stars (NSL Rd 7)

Centre Ellie Rattu believes her side can continue to kick-on, after securing back-to-back away wins.

Victories over Team Bath and Strathclyde Sirens have pushed Mavericks back to within touching distance of the top four and Rattu believes that it has been the work of her side around their structure that has helped them find their form.

“It was really good. We’ve had some really good training weeks focusing on the things that are non-negotiable for us in terms of structure. To have that pay off with a really good scoreline against Sirens was great as well. We’re hoping to build on that over the next few weeks.”

Tomorrow’s match will be something of a litmus test for how far this Mavericks side have come, against a Severn Stars side that have impressed so far this season and sit third in the league. Rattu knows that they will post a considerable challenge to her side, but has backed her team to secure the result if they stick to their processes.

“It’s massive. You have to take each game as it comes. This is going to be a huge test against Stars. We know that they are sitting high up in the table and have beaten the likes of Pulse this season. But we know that if we can stick to the structures we’ve been working on, then we’re more than capable of securing a result.”

It was a somewhat shaky start to the season for Mavericks, but Rattu believes that those performances are now firmly a thing of the past, as her side look to continue on their upward trajectory.

“We’ve definitely seen massive improvements from the Season Opener. As a group, we’ve done really well to put those first few games behind us and push on to this point. We need to look at how we can keep maximising performances and approach these games in the best way that we can.”

There are plenty of big matches still to come for the side, but Rattu insists that this is a process for the group, understanding that they will learn a lot more about themselves tomorrow afternoon against Stars.

“We’re going to go hard at this one. We know that one game doesn’t define us and we’re still building in this process. We know that we can keep pushing on regardless of what’s happened in the past too. They are a very good side with threats across the court, but for us, we can only focus on ourselves and what we want to put out on the court.”