Harcourts look home

Harcourts will be confidently expected to qualify for the grand final when they play Gladstone All Blacks in a Netball Wairarapa premier one semi-final game at the Genesis Recreation Centre in Masterton tonight.
But a loss won't necessarily mean the end of All Blacks's title hopes as under the competition rules they would then play the winner of tonight's other semi-final clash between St Matthew's Collegiate and Wairarapa College next weekend to decide the second grand finalist.
Harcourts have been a class above all their opposition to date this season, having won all 14 of their preliminary round matches and scored close to 900 goals in the process. In fact, it's not beyond possibility they will reach the 1000 mark in the competition decider, something which would surely be an unprecedented achievement.
Compare that with Gladstone All Blacks's 10 wins and 519 goals and you can clearly see the magnitude of the task facing them tonight.Somehow they have to devise tactics to successfully nullify Harcourt's experience and expertise at both ends of the court and it will be an upset of massive proportions if they manage to do that.
The Battle of the Colleges should be an interesting match with St Matthew's having the better form over the whole season to date but Wairarapa College being the defending premier one champions and making steady improvement as the season has progressed.
Whether that level of improvement will be enough for them to beat St Matthew's, however, is debatable as the latter look to have greater depth in key positions and that could be vital in such an important game.