Young netball goal shoot Ellen Halpenny is finally reaping the benefit of two years' bench-warming for the Canterbury Tactix.
Now, with goal shoot Brown shifted north to the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic, Halpenny has leapt at the chance to show what she has learnt in the opening rounds of this year's ANZ Championship.
She expects to have to shift up another gear in this weekend's fourth round, when the Tactix -- with just one win to date -- take on defending champions Melbourne Vixens, unbeaten in three games, in Christchurch on Monday.
Halpenny, a New Zealand under-21 representative, is unlikely to be overawed by the occasion, despite having an intimidating defence including Australian representatives Bianca Chatfield and Julie Corletto to contend with.
"It's pretty exciting but as you can see, the Tactix like a challenge. Nothing's too big for us!" Halpenny said today.
Playing a big part in her boisterous approach is the Tactix effort last week against inaugural trans-Tasman champions NSW Swifts, who led 24-23 at halftime and 36-33 with 15 minutes to go before the Tactix battled back to tie the game 45-45 at fulltime.
Although the Swifts came through for a 56-53 extra-time win, Halpenny said the team's performance gave them a real boost ahead of the Vixens' clash.
"It was really frustrating to not finish off when we'd done so much good work previously," she told NZPA today.
"For the Vixens, our approach will be just like it is for anybody else. It's just another girl in a dress -- we'll concentrate on our own game, it's more about us rather than about them."
Tactix coach Helen Mahon-Stroud has been tracking Halpenny's improvement with some satisfaction.
"Ellen's a young player who's been in the Tactix environment for the last two years and given the opportunity of court time, she's gone from strength to strength," Mahon-Stroud told NZPA.
"Her court play and her ability to combine with the attacking unit is improving every time she's out there on court. She can make herself available for the ball, she can take it and she can shoot.
"She's got really good strength in the air and she can get herself into a good position -- that's what you want out of a shooter."
Mahon-Stroud said Halpenny's main need for improvement comes in her shooting statistics. In the Tactix's first-up win over Central Pulse, and in a disappointing second-round loss to West Coast Fever, Halpenny hovered around a 78 percent success rate -- getting there, but not really good enough, as both coach and player concede.
Against the Swifts, with their formidable circle defenders Sonia Mkoloma and Rebecca Bulley, Halpenny's percentage plunged to a shade over 70 percent.
"I really need to improve my shooting percentage, it's not that good," Halpenny admitted.
Mahon-Stroud has no doubt her shooter has the ability to make big improvements in that area.
"Ellen's shooting percentages haven't been as high as she or we would have liked, they really need to be in the 80s. But the court movement is coming, the ability to take the ball in the air and play against these top defenders.
"That will give her the confidence to build on her shooting percentages."
The Magic kick off this weekend's round of matches, looking to make it three wins on end when they host West Coast Fever in Hamilton on Saturday. The Pulse, who last year beat the Swifts in Wellington for their first win of the trans-Tasman league, travel for the rematch on Saturday to Sydney and will meet a Swifts team that has yet to be beaten this season.
Southern Steel, third on the table, have a tough away match against seventh-placed Adelaide Thunderbirds on Sunday while Northern Mystics travel to Brisbane on Monday for a clash against the surprisingly winless Queensland Firebirds.
