Netball: Fideliter 1 surge strongly late

Whangaruru's Sophie Tua looks to offload the ball to teammate Trina Henare as she gains position on Whangarei Girls' High School wing defence Dani Kirby. Photo/Jo Kirby

In the third week of the preliminary round there were no surprises with the top team playing fourth, third taking on sixth, and second facing fifth.

Active Refrigeration Fideliter 1 had a slow start against Treewise Marist with only four goals in it at the first quarter before going on to win 56-27.

Fideliter 1, however, had a big second and final quarter and Marist a particularly low scoring second quarter.

A complete defensive effort by Fideliter 1 made it very difficult for Marist to get the ball through the court and into the circle.

Alisha Takimoana at goal keep picked up numerous intercepts while Rowena Davis Cooper at goal defence cleared the ball quickly. Nikki Lau at wing defence also helped in getting a lot of turnover ball.

Kate Te Whata at goal shoot shot consistently rewarding the defensive efforts of the team and she was well supported throughout the game by Jude Campbell and Cassey Cooper at goal attack.

For Marist, Puawai Shortland at goal keep and Helen Francis at goal defence combined well in the first half.

Jayne Southee at centre had a great game and worked tirelessly and was ably assisted by Sue Ann Nesbit at wing defence and Kim Ruth at wing attack.

The second half saw Shortland move to goal shoot where she added height to the shooting circle.

There she paired up with Tamea Ross who had a steady game at goal attack.

Northland Coastal Development Whangaruru started strong before faltering slightly and having a big final quarter in their game against the Whangarei Girls' High School 1 side, which Whangaruru won 56-42.

Whangaruru were up by six at the first quarter but by half time there was only three goals in it.

In the third quarter Whangaruru edged ahead and they held on after a dominant final quarter.

Girls' High produced a credible performance and were in the hunt for a lot of the game.

For Whangaruru, the second half attacking combination of Sophie Tua at goal attack and Trina Henare was effective and turned the game around.

In the final quarter Morgan Taurua at goal shoot showed some clever moves and held well to get into good space.

Kea Randell at centre then wing defence in the second half also had a credible game.

In defence, Liohona Hebden at goal keep then goal defence worked consistently and came up with some good intercepts. Hebden was also strong on attack through court.

For Girls' High, the introduction of Jasmine Milton at goal keep in the second quarter brought off some athletic intercepts to have the team close the gap.

The rest of the team worked hard to stay in the hunt and never gave up.

Manawanui White started with serious intent when they had a 14-goal lead at the first quarter in their game against Active Refrigeration Fideliter 2.

Although Fideliter 2 won the second quarter by a goal and the final quarter by four goals, but they had another low scoring quarter in the third quarter which was costly as Manawanui White won 49-33.

For Manawanui White, Jade Telfer at goal keep then goal defence applied pressure in the shooting circle, shutting down options to rival shooters.

Telfer also got a number of timely intercepts. Morgana Nathan at wing defence proved a real nuisance and unsettled the opposition.

Jaelyn Walker at goal shoot and Grace Cooper at goal attack combined well in the shooting circle working the ball around to ensure a quality shot.

For Fideliter 2, Trina Harris Ruke at goal defence and Sam Davis Cooper at centre were instrumental in getting the ball through the court and were strong defensively.

Alexis Chapman at goal keep also assisted with the defensive effort. Jess Cole firstly at goal attack then goal shoot was strong and consistent.