By Di O’Connell
It was a brave move for Joline Henry to join the struggling Pulse - and the changes have kept coming for the veteran wing defender as she is now learning a new role in the pivotal centre position.
Henry sat out training with an illness but come Sunday against the Tactix she is likely to be the centre of attention again.
In the last two games - both of them wins - the former wing defender has covered more court at centre.
“It’s different and I guess the movement it requires on your body is different – I certainly found bits of my back I haven’t used before,” says Henry.
And while coach Robyn Broughton had difficulty changing a senior player's position the bold switch from defence has lifted confidence with faster midcourt flow improving feeding into the circle.
“We used to have it stopping at the traverse and coming back to transverse but now we seem to be getting over the hump,” says Broughton.
And Paula Griffin's goal shooting has also benefitted from Henry's midcourt presence.
The Pulse sit mid-table with four games to go and for the first time a play-off spot is within reach.
“We need to win every game from here to have a really good chance and then other teams have to beat other teams we’re not giving up hope and we still have a good chance,” says Griffin.
Particularly if Henry is at the heart of it.
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