There were plenty of positives for Saracens Mavericks head coach Camilla Buchanan to sink her teeth into - after her side made it back-to-back home wins in the Netball Superleague.

A win over Strathclyde Sirens at Hatfield's Hertfordshire Sports Village came as a follow-up to a success over Team Bath.

And it was a fourth-quarter charge that put a cagey start firmly behind them, all after a late change to the line-up where Ine-Mari Venter was replaced by Britney Clarke.

The boss said: "It was a bit of a slow start but we never lost confidence in the group out there. We knew that Brit and [Emma ] were both going to be solid and do the job.

"It was going to be a question of how long it would take us to settle and we made a few tactical changes as well to help us be more direct to goal.

"They worked well. I’m really happy with that end result.

"We knew Sirens were going to come at us and not let up and I’m really pleased with how we turned the screw in the last quarter. It’s something we can still do more consistently.

"When this group play like we did in the final quarter, we can be pretty unstoppable, but it’s that magic word of consistency that we’ll continue searching for throughout.”

It was an eventful day for Ine-Mari Venter, as she marked her 50th appearance for the club with an impressive showing, despite missing the start of the match with a nosebleed.

A week after Razia Quashie had made her 100th appearance for the club, Buchanan praised both stalwarts for what they have given to the club.

“Ine likes a bit of drama," she said, "so not being able to start because of a nosebleed is pretty on-brand.

"It’s incredible that she and Raz last week have reached the landmarks they have at one club.

"Raz has been here since she was a youngster and has grown tremendously. It says a lot about her as a person to have shown the loyalty she has, and she fully deserved that accolade.

"Then Ine has made that 50 mark in four seasons which is incredible. She’s a long way from home but considers this place to be a home from home. It’s a privilege to have her in this side.

"She’s a special player and I’m so happy for both of them."

After successive home fixtures, the Mavs now have three games in a row on the road, the first on Friday night at Leeds Rhinos.

 

Buchanan said: "Away games present a new challenge but also with their perks.

"Going away from home, you always strive to try and silence the crowd, but we know that Rhinos are a side that are on the up at the moment.

"They’ve really turned a corner, so we know that our game plan is going to have to be incredibly strong.

"We’ve got some work to do, and we’ve changed up a few things around how we approach away days this season and we want to settle into the match.

"We’re looking forward to attacking it as hard as we can and seeing what we can do on court."