Hawke’s Bay netball: Taradale’s rise from the ashes

Action from the 2022 Hawke's Bay Super 8 netball final, in which Otane beat All in: Elusive. The clubs each started the 2023 competition in winning form on Wednesday. Photo / Paul Taylor

It’s been a long time coming for Taradale netball coach Cheryl Pohlen, but the club has finally reached Hawke’s Bay’s Super 8 competition.

It certainly wasn’t easy for it was only last Tuesday, the night before the opening of the competition, that the young side won a promotion-relegation match to make it into the region’s netballing big time.

In that match, they beat bottom Super 8 side Hastings Girls’ High School.

Appropriately named Taradale Phoenix, it was the biggest moment in a rebuilding phase for a club that was many years ago a feature of inter-city top grade, before the emergence of the Super 8.

Just 24 hours after qualifying for the step-up, Taradale were pitted against regular Super 8 finalists All in: Elusive, who won 61-30.

It was a promising start for Pohlen, who has been with the club “a long, long time”, and who said: “We hope to really build on this. It’s hard because the other teams have established top players, so I was pretty happy. I was really stoked. They’ve done it all themselves.”

As it was the side for the Super 8 debut was missing goalkeeper and Hawke’s Bay Under 18 representative Acacia Tamihana-Joe, unavailable on the night, but Hawke’s Bay Under 16 selection Georgia Cockroft on goal attack was able to play.

In other games, Otane, which beat All in: Elusive in last year’s final and claimed the Super 8 title for the 15th year in a row, opened its 2023 campaign with a 70-15 win over All in: Mavericks, while Hastings HHSOG beat MAC Blue 44-39 and Napier Girls High School beat Waipukurau side Central 57-51.

Already there is anticipation about the Otane and All in: Elusive match in round seven on August 9, the last round before the semifinals a week later.

The draw for Wednesday’s games is: Taradale v MAC Blue, 6.15pm; Napier GHS v HHSOG, 6.15pm; All in: Elusive v All in: Mavericks, 7.45pm; Otane v Central, 7.45pm.