Belinda Edwards and Sue Ann David, in defence for Onerahi 1, applied pressure on the shooters throughout the game and did come up with some good ball.
Jayne Southee at centre put in 110 per cent effort to assist defensively and on attack. However the team tried to force the ball into the circle instead of sticking to basics and to safe netball.
A couple of different attacking and shooting combinations were tried by Onerahi 1 but they were not able to make up the gap.
In the second week of finals number-two played three, while four played five and six played seven. The top side and number-eight had a bye.
Northland Coastal Development Whangaruru had a close game against Manawanui 1, winning 57-51.
Whangaruru had a good start and they managed to win each quarter by a few goals up until the final quarter which Manawanui won by a goal.
For Whangaruru, Liahona Hebden and Jamiee Lee Tito in defence in the first half, then Reanon Hetaraka-Sadler in the second half, all combined well together to get intercepts and tips.
In midcourt Cherie Pepene at centre had great pace in the first half and Tito in the second half kept up the effort, combining well with Shawni Paniona at wing attack. In the shooting circle Morgan Taurua and Sophy Tua worked well together supporting and backing up each other and shooting consistently.
For Manawanui 1 it was an excellent effort with the whole team showing guts and determination. Revena Otene at goal keep and Gail Shepherd at goal shoot kept both ends of the court composed with their communication and smart play. The midcourt players were great on attack and defence. Rhiannon Reti at goal attack had a strong game in the shooting circle.
Wahine Toa 1 scraped home in an even closer 36-32 win against Semco Group Onerahi 2.
The low-scoring, see-sawing match saw quite a bit of whistle and this was probably because the result was important with the winner needing to grade next season against the top two premier reserve teams to remain in premier.
Both teams won two quarters a piece but Wahine Toa had a particularly strong second quarter. For Wahine Toa, they tried a number of combinations, with Trudy Williams one of the mainstay players in the mid- court.
In defence, Jaelyn Walker also had a whole game and she came up with a number of tips and intercepts. And the introduction of young Kahukaura Hau-Peita in to the shooting circle saw a change up from a low short game to a more driving and moving game.
For Onerahi 2 the defence unit of Sarah Nichols and Hayley Taylor put in a sterling effort and Kim Leemyer at wing defence had a busy game.
Jess Lowe at centre worked hard and Dana Antunovich at goal shooter took time to adjust to the tight body marking of the Wahine Toa defenders but she had an excellent shooting game when she did get the ball.
