Winged coach to miss the action | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Netball semifinalists Harcourts will be without their player-coach Kelly Sargent when they play Pioneer in a Wairarapa premier one semifinal match at the Genesis Recreation Centre in Masterton tonight.

Sargent has a wrist in plaster after breaking it in four places in the last of her side's preliminary round matches, ironically also against Pioneer, at the Colombo Road courts 10 days ago.

The former national league player was going for an intercept when her feet and those of an opposing player became entangled and she crashed awkwardly on to the concrete court with her wrist caught under her rib cage.

"I didn't see it coming, I had my eyes on the ball and then, bang, I was gone," Sargent said yesterday.

"I knew straight away there were broken bones, it (the wrist) was smashed to smithereens."

The injury is the worst experienced by Sargent in a long and illustrious netball career and having 11-week-old daughter, Macey, and two boys, Jackson, 4, and Lucas, who will be 3 next week, to care for only adds to her frustration.

"Right now I don't know how long the healing process will be but I'm picking it's going to be quite a while," she said.

"The doctor is looking at it next week so I guess it's pretty much a matter of wait and see."

The loss of Kelly Sargent is not the only hassle confronting Winged Harcourts coach to miss the big action

unbeaten Harcourts leading into tonight's netball semifinal in Masterton, with two other key members of their squad - Sarah Watson and Astee Karaitiana - both on the sick list and clearly in the "doubtful starter" category.

If they are able to take court, Watson will spearhead the defence and with Sargent missing Karaitiana would probably be required to join the experienced Geraldine Carroll in the shooting department.

Ask Sargent though to reflect on what will happen if either one or both of Watson and Karaitiana can't play and she admits a major reshuffle would then be on the cards.

But that would be something made easier by the versatility of other regulars like Carlene Karaitiana, Emma Foote, Katie Wyeth and Eleni Mitchell.

"The great thing is that all the girls can be put just about anywhere and you know they will do a good job," Sargent said.

"So if we have to juggle things around it shouldn't affect things too much."

Harcourts have been so dominant in premier one play this season that no matter what their starting line-up tonight, they will start firm favourites to beat a Pioneer side they defeated by close to 30 goals the last time they met.

But while Sargent agrees anything other than a comfortable win would be a surprise she respects Pioneer as a team whose aggressive style of netball can be difficult to contain.

"They (Pioneer) try to get into your heads and upset you mentally as much as physically but we know what to expect and therefore it won't be an excuse if they get up and beat us," she said. "We will be ready for anything they come up with, I am sure of that."

The other semifinal, between Wairarapa College and St Matthew's Collegiate, will be played at the Colombo Rd courts on Saturday.