Southern Hoiho captain Samara Gallaher has promised not to throw herself into any more tables.
Don’t bet on it.
The 29-year-old is supposed to be looking after herself out there on court.
She took a four-year break from the sport following multiple concussions. She returned last year to play for the Otago Gold Rush.
Gently, gently, gently was definitely the plan. But backing off goes against every instinct she has.
In her most recent outing, she managed to crash into a table. She was so desperate to get to the ball.
"I’m obviously trying to look after myself," Gallaher said.
"But when the ball is on the ground, in a competition setting, it is very hard to turn that off.
"I guess I have been throwing myself around one too many times."
The Hoiho are scrapping for everything and the captain is leading by example on that front.
They have started the Tauihi season with four losses and have a tough away match against the Northern Kahu in Auckland tonight.
"There is stacks of time to turn it around," she said.
"We’ve had a chance to play everyone now and we know what we are up against and we know the standard."
"I feel like we have everything there. It is just about getting consistency.
"We come out firing in the first half and it is amazing. But then we just need to sustain that through to the end of the game."
The Hoiho have been putting together "some different sets to get different looks".
They would do that even if they were not 0-4. If you do not change your game, you get predictable. You get predictable, you get beaten.
But the Hoiho do need some different options for scoring. They are averaging 51.75 points per game, so that will need to track upwards.
Kahu has set the pace so far. Tahlia Tupaea is averaging more than 20 points a game.
Finding a way to stop her will go along way towards getting a breakthrough win.
"They are loaded with talent eh. They have weapons one through to five and their bench is pretty solid as well.
"For us it will be about shutting down their main player, Tupaea, who kind of got away on us when we played. She took over in that second half."
Kahu beat Hoiho 50-46 in Dunedin earlier this month. Tupaea scored nearly half her team’s tally with 23 points.
The rematch tip-off is at 5pm.
