Central Sports coach Bridie Tippett (standing, left) and captain Holly McKay (with trophy) celebrate with teammates after winning the Premiere One final in Hastings today. Photo/Warren Buckland
Central Sports coach Bridie Tippett (standing, left) and captain Holly McKay (with trophy) celebrate with teammates after winning the Premiere One final in Hastings today. Photo/Warren Buckland
Quite often, a lot is made of experience in the sport kingdom and for a valid reason.
But every so often condiments — such as exuberance of youth, belief and perseverance, through failure — can also give success its flavour.
Just ask the Central Sports Unichem Waipukurau team after they beat overwhelming favourites Hastings High School Old Girls BM Business Advisors & Accountants Keas in the Premier One final of the Hawke's Bay club netball Saturday competition today.
The Bridie Tippett-coached Central Sports had lost twice to Keas in the regular season but this afternoon they found a potpourri of attributes that took them to 37-37 at fulltime before they eclipsed their experienced rivals 40-38 in overtime. The sides traded shots until one of them established a two-goal margin to claim the bragging rights.
"Honestly, none of us knew we had gone into extra time," said an ecstatic captain/goal defence Holly Tregurtha as her team buzzed with excitement in anticipation of receiving the biggest trophy in the competition.
They received the 1927 Hastings Basketball Association Trophy, which was gifted Hawkes' Bay Netball operations manager Tina Arlidge for the first time this season. (The Hawks Club were the inaugural recipients of the silverware in the basketball competition.)
But today was all about the women who wore bibs and played outdoors on saturated courts at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park facility.
"We're about working for each other, we're about playing good netball and we're about learning and we do it so well because we have a lot of young babies," said Tregurtha of a side who are comprised of predominantly Central Hawke's Bay College first-team netballers bar two.
Only the 28-year-old stay-at-home mother of two, and Hayley McKay, 33, aren't high schoolers.
"They want to be here and they want to be a team so that works for us," said Tregurtha.
However, Tippett was mindful of how the proceedings were unfolding from the sidelines.
"I suppose the girls have a no-fear naivety about them."
She said the Keas deserved their favouritism after Central had had two cracks at them but fallen shy.
"In the first round we were second last so we only just avoided promotion/relegation," she said, revealing they had made a decision to move up from the Waipukurau competition to the Hastings/Napier one.
Hayley McKay (facing camera, left), Samanatha Taylor (GS), Tabitha Coddington (GK), Tia Cudy and Ally Hislop trigger off wild celebrations for Central Sports. Photo/Warren Buckland
It had taken their predominantly schoolgirl players a while to develop in adapting to the environment before becoming accustomed to the pressures of competing at the higher echelons of club netball.
"It's a credit to the girls because they have pulled together because they really are a team unit."
Tippett said they had a taken a nothing-to-lose attitude today because player-for-player the Keas had it over her troops in the experience department.
A collective sense of self-belief was imperative in accomplishing their goal.
"We've done it all second round. We just pushed and pushed and pushed against some of the teams we probably didn't have the right to do.
"I knew the girls had a the belief to do it but I was hoping they believed in each other enough to do it and, hey look, those last few minutes showed they did."
The victory is not an promotion to the elite Super 8 competition played on Friday nights at the Pettigrew-Green Arena, Taradale, next season. Central will have to go through the pre-season grading tournament like other sides.
A grinning Tippett said Central Sports celebration would have to take into account the age of the players but the CHB club would acknowledge the feat in some shape or form soon.
Asked what went wrong at the final hurdle, Keas player/coach Rebecca Martin replied:
"Nothing, we just got beaten by a better team on the day."
Martin said the Keas were a non-training group of social netballers who had only seven players today but they were satisfied with what they had accomplished this winter.
"We're pretty proud of our team and we've enjoyed the season, which was not bad," she said.
A father, Barry Taylor, hugs daughter Samantha Taylor's captain, Holly Tregurtha, after they won the Premiere One final against HHSOG Keas today. Photo/Warren Buckland
■ Top qualifiers Outkast Sports Optimise Physio will take on fourth qualifiers and defending champion Otane Thirsty Whale in the Hawke's Bay Super 8 semifinals at the PG Arena on Friday next week.
The other semifinal will be between All In Tremains Elusive and Napier Girls' High School Senior A.
In last night's key games, All In Elusive beat All In Evasive 74-53 in the club derby encounter to secure their berth and NGHS overwhelmed Otane 57-44 to finish third.
Other playoffs on Friday next week will see All in Evasive take on Central Sports Vet Services for fifth spot and Hastings High School Old Girls' Proactive Huias play Hastings Girls' High School for seventh.
Last night HGHS fought tooth and nail before succumbing 51-40 to Outkast.
TODAY'S RESULTS
2018 Napier & Hastings club winners and runners up: Premier: Winners Central Sports Unichem Waipukurau, runners-up Hastings High School Old Girls BM Business Advisors & Accountants Keas.
Senior 1: Winners Taradale Phoenix, runners-up All In Revamp.
Senior 2: Winners All In Firebirds, runners-up Clive Netball Elbow Room Clive Ferns.
Senior 3: Winners Blue Heights Royal, runners-up YMP Paki Paki.
