MATCH REACTION | Camilla Buchanan (Pre-Season)

Head Coach Camilla Buchanan chose to look at the positives, as her side drew a thrilling clash with Strathclyde Sirens at HSV.

In her side’s only home pre-season outing before the NSL campaign gets underway, Buchanan saw plenty of positive signs, explaining that her side need to look at how they cope with pressure in matches as they build up to the Season Opener in three weeks time.

“That was a massive step up from two weeks ago against Storm. Pre-season is about tweaking things and putting things into practice. What we learnt from today is that ultimately, everything we want is there, but we need to look at how we adapt to pressure and how we can adapt tactically.”

After a defeat to Surrey Storm in their previous pre-season outing, Buchanan felt that her side had shown a marked improvement in performance, praising the work of the defensive circle as part of a new system.

“I was really pleased with the step up that we’ve made. Decision-making was a big focus for us, and I thought that defensively we did really well. We’ve introduced a bit of a new system, but everyone has really bought into it, especially in the last month. It was pleasing to see some of that work come to fruition.”

Whilst a victory would have been the cherry on top on a raucous afternoon at a sold out HSV, Buchanan believes that her side are in a good place heading into the start of the season.

“We would have liked to have get the win, but we’re happy with the progression we’ve shown. If we can keep that up for the next three weeks, then we’ll be in a good place for the start of the season.”

There were first home appearances for a number of new signings, including attacker Emma Thacker, who impressed with her all-action game.

Buchanan praised the youngster for how she commanded the attack, believing that there is still plenty more to come.

“The new players we’ve had come in are outstanding players. Emma really took control on the court and she’s such an exciting player. The next step for her is looking at how she can dominate that attacking end. I was pleased with what I saw from her today. There’s loads more to come from our new signings and from the group as well, which is really exciting.”

It’s all systems go again for Mavericks next weekend, as they travel to Manchester for another pre-season outing. Buchanan believes that it will be another step up for her side, as she challenged the group to fine-tune their patterns on court against the former league champions.

“We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing in terms of building every week. We’ve got Thunder away next week and we’ll be looking for another step up again. We need to look at how we can turn the screw in matches. We’ll build on what’s gone well and develop those bits that need some more fine-tuning. These next few weeks for us are all about building brick by brick.”