MATCH PREVIEW | Saracens Mavericks vs Team Bath (NSL Rd 11)

Centre Indya Masser is looking for her side to respond after a tough few weeks of away matches.

Outings against last season’s finalists London Pulse and Loughborough Lightning may have seen the side slip to two defeats, but Masser believes there have been plenty of positives to take from running both sides incredibly close.

“The past few games have been really tough, but we’ve taken a lot of positives away. Even though we haven’t been able to pick up a win from Pulse or Lightning, there have been so many good things to come out of the games. We’re building and building every single week and there’s still so much more to come. We’re happy with where we’re at as a group.”

Saturday will see Mavericks return to home surroundings in front of a record crowd in Hatfield and Masser is eager for the home fans to roar her side to victory.

“We’ve not had our home fans cheering us on for the last few weeks, so we can’t wait to be back at Herts Sports Village with that crowd really getting behind us. Hopefully they will be able to push us on and we can pick up that win.”

The second half of the season presents a new dynamic, with sides knowing what the opposition will bring to the party. Masser is expecting Team Bath to come out firing come First Centre Pass, but is adamant that her side will be able to show the best version of themselves.

“We’ve hit that middle part of the season now where teams are looking at what we threw at them last time we played. Bath will come out strong and I have no doubt they’ll put in a good performance against them. We played really well when we travelled to them last time and I feel like this week, we’ve developed further. The camp is really positive, and I feel like we can get a good amount of goals on the board.”

Having initially been named as a Training Partner, before being elevated into the main squad, Masser has since taken on the role of starting Centre for the side. The youngster admitted that it was a move that she was trying to take in her stride and credited the support network she has had around her throughout.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time at Centre. I’ve been taking it all in my stride every week and I’ve been learning from the best. It’s a new role for me, especially being in the starting seven, but the players and coaches have been brilliant, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m learning each week, but I’ve been really pleased with my own performances. I want to keep developing and carrying this on for the rest of the season.”