Netball: Fourth place for under-15s

The Whangarei Netball Centre under-15 team was all smiles after their quarter-final win at the North Island under-15 championships. Back row from left; Mikaela Crawford, Serai Murray Wihongi, Amie Payton, Lauren Kenrick, Dani Kirby, Jess McClintock Maihi, Kaea Robinson; front row, Trina Henare (coach), Leihana Shelford Tito, Maddy Gordon, Rayna Dangen. Absent: Grace Lockett. Photo/Jo Kirby

The Whangarei Netball Centre under-15 representative team can stand proud with a top four finish in the B grade of the North Island Under-15 Championships, their first time in the competition.

Having been placed in the B grade due to it being the team's first year in the event, coach Trina Henare and manager Carol McClintock were proud of the team's performance in New Plymouth.

They said over the three-day tournament on the first weekend on July the promise, dedication, and development shown by the players - some of whom played with injury niggles - was amazing.

Henare said: "the tournament gives our players from the north a place to benchmark themselves against the best in the North Island."

There were four pools to cater for the 20 team with Whangarei placed in pool A with Hawke's Bay, Manawatu Development, Trust Waikato Hamilton City, and Mangere Otahuhu.

The under-15s had a good start with wins over Manawatu Development 31-28 and Hamilton City Development 33-26.

The following day they had a win against Hawke's Bay 25-20 then a narrow loss against Mangere Otahuhu 28-30. Later that day they played North Harbour Y9 from pool D in crossovers winning 34-28 - which meant they played AMI Auckland Y9, winners from pool C, which they lost to 37-24.

It should be noted that Auckland has three Y9 teams so this centre and some of the other centres represented are much bigger than Whangarei.

This loss meant they were left playing off for third and fourth which ended up being against Wellington Gold, who had lost to Rotorua.

Whangarei narrowly lost their game 30-28 to be placed fourth as the Auckland Y9 team were the overall winners of the B grade, with Rotorua under-15 the runners-up.

Sophie Tua travelled with the team as the umpire and got A grade games including an A grade semi final and an A grade final, an achievement she was very happy about.

Tua has a Zone qualification with New Zealand theory which she only sat earlier this year achieving the third highest score.

The team management also wished to acknowledge the Whangarei Netball Centre for their support of the development and growth of players to ensure that they have clear pathways for the future.

A number of parents also attended the tournament as overall a highly successful result and something WNC has been immensely proud of.

WHANGAREI U15: Amie Payton, Mikaela Crawford, Dani Kirby, Grace Lockett, Leihana Shelford Tito, Rayna Dangen, Serai Murray Wihongi, Kaea Robinson, Maddy Gordon, and Lauren Kenrick.