The Central Pulse have been dealt a further Covid-19 blow with coach Yvette McCausland-Durie to miss the side's opening two matches after testing positive for the virus.
Pulse high performance director Waimarama Taumaunu confirmed McCausland-Durie's absence on Wednesday ahead of the side's opening match against the Mystics on Saturday.
McCausland-Durie had tested positive that morning.
It comes after the Pulse requested their season-opening match against the Stars, originally scheduled for Monday 14 March, be postponed under the league's Covid-19 policy as nine players were ruled out.
Without McCausland-Durie, Taumaunu told media she would be taking the reins for their first two games against the Mystics and Magic this weekend.
"She's isolating at home now. She's symptom-free, but we're testing each day because we're veering on the side of being very careful, particularly around our players," Taumaunu said.
"She will, I assume by what's happened this morning, be on the phone to me constantly, so she will be a very strong presence even if she's not there in person this weekend."
Full team training resumed for the Pulse on Wednesday afternoon despite McCausland-Durie's positive test with Taumaunu saying it was just another obstacle they had to push past.
“It’s another disruption but there’s been so many through the pre-season that I’m hoping we are building a team that is resilient enough to cope and it won’t be a huge disruption."
Taumaunu added some of that resilience was brushing off on the staff as well.
“I’m a specialist coach and a performance director, I’ve been to all the practices and involved in the game play so I’m hoping we can make this as seamless as possible and I’m hoping we can get the rest of the staff through testing on Friday so we are actually at the game.”
The Pulse will run a 12-player bench this weekend with development players Ainsleyana Puleiata, Parris Mason and Renee Matoe brought in to the squad as additional cover.
"So far everyone is meeting all the milestones in the return to play [programme] and are looking pretty happy," Taumaunu said.
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