Netball loss 'wake up' call for college

Nobody could ever accuse Wairarapa College premier one netball coach Kelly Sargent of pulling any punches.

And she was at her straight-talking best when asked to reflect on her team's surprise 47-28 loss to Carterton New World Lynx in the only premier one match played at the Colombo Rd courts on Saturday.

Sargent said her young Wairarapa College squad simply didn't have their minds on the job.

"They played like they were already in holiday mode, it was very disappointing. Basically nothing went right, they made too many basic errors, they looked like they were just going through the motions."

While conceding the loss of Stevie Paine because of another sporting commitment and Danielle McKay through injury weakened Wairarapa College, Sargent was adamant it could not be used as an excuse for the below-par effort.

"They know they are a lot better than that, that you can't expect to win games when the concentration isn't where it should be. Hopefully it was a good wake-up call in that respect, they've seen first hand what happens when you don't front up."

Sargent was quick to praise the Lynx for applying pressure throughout, especially on defence where they constantly disrupted the flow of ball to the college shooters. "They were up for this one and we weren't, they deserved the result they got."

Sargent is a member of the Carterton New World Legends squad which has been promoted to the premier one grade after starting the season at a lower level. Unfortunately, they were forced to default to Pioneer Blue on Saturday because many of them have children playing other sports and the 9am start was unsuitable.

Meanwhile, two Wairarapa colleges, Makoura and St Matthew's, are contesting the College Sport Wellington regional netball series and they played each other, Makoura winning 29-24.

The next series matches are on Monday, July 16, with Makoura playing Tawa and St Matthew's meeting Samuel Marsden.