Netball: Wellington put wind up City of Sails

Kayla Cullen played three positions for Auckland-Waitakere. Photo / Steven McNicholl

If their opening performance against Wellington is anything to go by, Auckland Waitakere are in for a long NPC campaign.

Auckland made an awful start to the Lion Foundation netball championships yesterday, copping a 23-goal battering at the hands of Wellington.

Led by veterans Cushla Lichtwark and Frances Solia, Wellington outplayed Auckland in every facet of the game - they were brutal on defence, their midcourt too fast and shooting circle near flawless.

Wellington coach Gail Parata opted for a small, moving shooting circle, pairing 1.73m tall Jezrae Te Runa-Morehu with Magic shooter Jamilah Gupwell. Te Runa-Morehu shot 31 from 35 before she was forced off the court with an ankle injury late in the third quarter. That saw the introduction of Alicia College, who matched Gupwell (22/22) with a 100 per cent effort (10/10).

The Auckland Waitakere attack was flat and disjointed, struggling to bring the ball through the court.

Auckland's performance probably reflected their hurried three-week build-up to the competition, but coach Te Aroha Keenan refused to use that as an excuse.

"There are no excuses - that was a poor display of netball and we cannot blame [the limited preparation time] for that, we should have been much better than that," she said.

"There is a lot of stuff we need to work on. We made some critical errors right throughout the court, so trainings this week are going to be tough," said Keenan.

Auckland Waitakere were missing the experience of star shooter Cathrine Latu, who was unavailable because of a prior commitment.

But they will have to get used to life without Latu. The 1.89m shooter is almost certain to be named in the Silver Ferns test side this week. If so, Latu will only be available for next week's game against Canterbury before national duties kick in.

Auckland could also lose top young talent Kayla Cullen. Cullen, who showed her versatility by playing at centre, wing defence and goal defence at various stages of the game, is a strong contender to make the Silver Ferns test line-up.

With captain Casey Williams sitting out next month's tests as she recovers from ankle surgery, the Ferns have a vacancy in the defensive circle.

NPC ACTION: Round 1

First division

* Canterbury 62, Bay of Plenty 43

* Southland 50, Otago 45

* Wellington 63, Auckland Waitakere 40

Second division

* North 68, Eastern 28

* Counties Manukau 43, Tasman 31

* Western 60, Waikato 59