Loughborough Lightning head coach Vic Burgess says her side have had a “target on their backs” all season as they aim for a historic third consecutive Netball Super League title.
Lightning visit London Pulse in the major play-off semi-final on Friday (20:00 BST) at Copper Box Arena, looking to seal a seventh Grand Final spot in eight seasons.
The defending, three-time champions are the only side to beat Pulse at the Copper Box this season and Burgess says Loughborough “will treat the game as our final”.
“We want to bank our space in that Grand Final as early as possible so we have to give it everything,” Burgess told BBC Radio Leicester.
Pulse and Lightning finished first and second respectively in the Super League table, with the winner of their ‘major’ semi-final progressing automatically to the Grand Final on 6 July.
The loser still has a second chance to reach the showpiece game, hosting the winner of Friday’s ‘minor’ semi-final between third-placed Manchester Thunder and fourth-placed London Mavericks the following weekend.
