The second to last week of the Whangarei netball Premier Preliminary Round had a whanau feel about it, as Manawanui played Manawanui and Whangaruru played Whangaruru.
The spirit even continued into the Fideliter v WGHS game given the historical connection of Fideliter being the WGHS old girls' club.
Manawanui started Friday evening's matches, and the White team wasted no time in asserting their superiority over their clubmates. They strung together a couple of significant uninterrupted runs ending the first half 39-14 in front. Cherith Schraag first at wing defence and later at goal defence for White was effective in slowing the game and turning over ball in the circle. The Red team struggled to find answers to disrupt the flow and while they put together an improved second-half performance, the White team easily won 73-36.
The Whangaruru game followed a similar story, with the premier team outclassing their clubmates. The combination of the experienced Reanon Hetaraka-Sadler and Amino Tango provided a sound defensive platform from which the attacking efforts of the number1 team were stifled. The introduction of Sian Telfer into the midcourt, also for the Premier team, added speed through the court and her placement of the ball into the shooters was precise. Team 1 did best when they played a short game but were well beaten by the Premier team 74-34.
WGHS Snr 1 came to play against Active Refrigeration Fideliter 1. Fideliter seemed unsettled in the first half, and the Girls' High team took advantage, applied pressure, and both Saphire Connelly-Parry and Bailey Goodman were accurate in the shooting circle. This enabled them to capitalise and stay in touch, being only five behind at halftime.
