Waikohu were too strong for Old Girls Whāngārā in their premier netball clash on Saturday, racking up 70 goals. Contesting the ball under the net are Waikohu shooter Princess Tomoana and Whāngārā goalkeeper Arie Aston. Photo / Paul Rickard
Waikohu were too strong for Old Girls Whāngārā in their premier netball clash on Saturday, racking up 70 goals. Contesting the ball under the net are Waikohu shooter Princess Tomoana and Whāngārā goalkeeper Arie Aston. Photo / Paul Rickard
Premier-grade powerhouses Waikohu Prems and YMP (1) turned up the heat in the YMCA on Saturday to record convincing victories and underline their title-winning intentions.
Both sides racked up 70 goals — Claydens Waikohu Prem (1) overwhelming East Coast Roofing OG Whāngārā 70-30 in the first game; Turanga FM YMP (1) similarly dominant in beating Gisborne Girls’ High Senior A 73-41.
From the moment they hit the court, Waikohu took control against an OG Whāngārā side coming off their historic first premier-grade win.
Waikohu led 18-9 after the first quarter and maintained the pressure throughout the next three periods, leading 41-14 at halftime and 57-23 at the three-quarter break.
It was a case of letting it flow as all players moved in unison, doing the basics and little things slickly and efficiently — shooters positioning, players backing up, applying pressure on the ball carrier, and running strongly on to passes to name a few.
OG Whāngārā made changes, but continued to find it difficult to stop Waikohu’s momentum.
Waikohu's Alex Sinclair looks to hand the ball on to midcourter Shari Puna, who is closely guarded by Seany Broderick, of OG Whāngārā. Photo / Paul Rickard
The second game was similar to the first as YMP (1) piled on the goals — leading 19-7 after the first 15 minutes, 38-15 at halftime and 54-31 heading into the final quarter.
Like Waikohu, their teamwork in all areas of the court was impressive.
And like OG Whāngārā, the students made changes in an effort to disrupt YMP’s flow of ball, but they continued to come up against a sea of black-and-white uniforms.
Girls’ High can take positives away from their third-quarter performance, which ended 16-all.
But YMP were already 23 goals ahead and finished strongly for a comprehensive win.
The students and YMP (1) are back in action at the Y tomorrow.
They take on Whāngārā Old Girls (1) in the 6pm game.
The round-one game between these sides was close, with Whāngārā sneaking home by three goals.
Both teams have displayed good skills at times, but not always consistently for the full hour.
Their previous meeting ended in a six-goal win to YMP, who have upped their game in all departments as the season has progressed.
Horouta Koura have also been working well as a team, but will need a 60-minute performance against a YMP side clearly determined to regain the No 1 status in premier netball.
Other senior grade results from Saturday (bonus point for losing by three or fewer goals):
1st grade: The Tyre General Ngātapa 25, Smash Palace Sportsfit 24; Claydens Waikohu Social A 32, OBM Blue 32; Smash Palace Sportsfit 23, Claydens Waikohu Social A 21.
