Rugby: MAGS girls doing their bit for the school

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The boys are empty-handed after a disappointing winter but the Mt Albert Grammar girls are doing their bit to ensure their school is not left high and dry.

The 1st XV rugby team failed to reach the semifinals and the 1st soccer XI handed their Auckland premier title over to Sacred Heart in finishing a lowly fourth.

Elsewhere, on the netball court, soccer pitch and lacrosse field the glitter is golden and, if things go their way at Rangitoto College tonight, they could add the premier basketball crown to their haul but face a Herculean task against Rangitoto College.

Lacrosse, so to speak, set the ball rolling. With the Auckland premier league title already in safekeeping, they quickly added the annual one-day tournament title and capped that when Olivia Hext led the team to national honours with a 9-0 win over Diocesan in the final.

In recognition of their efforts, 16 players from the 30-strong squad were selected in under-19 and under-15 representative teams.

In a hectic finish to their local soccer season, the MAGS 1st Xl girls played their rescheduled semifinal, beating WGHS 3-0. Two days later, during finals day at the Metro FC grounds in nearby Phyllis St, they beat Rangitoto 2-1.

Paul Marshall, in his first year at the school and heading the Girls' Football Academy, had his charges ripe for the final.

On the netball court, expectations were even higher with teams in both the premier and senior A finals in a hectic round of matches at Auckland Netball's headquarters.

In a first, MAGS met Baradene (in their first premier final since the early 1990s) in both finals with initial attention on the senior side, who have often made the final in recent years only to fall at the last hurdle. This year's team, co-captained by Ashi Ponini and Jamie Sowter, backed their determination to go all the way with a sound 35-17 victory. By the time the premiers took to the court, many supporters, who had been at Phyllis St for the soccer final, arrived at the Morrin Rd courts.

Co-coached by Te Aroha Keenan and Paula Smith and led by Erikana Pederson (standing in for injured regular captain Rebekah Roache, who watched from the sideline on crutches), MAGS went into the match intent on maintaining their season-long unbeaten record.

The battle, as intense on the court as off it as the rival bands of spectators got behind their teams, produced some thrilling netball with MAGS holding a good early advantage before being put under pressure by Baradene in the third and fourth quarters.

In the end their greater experience told and MAGS claimed the honours 37-30 even without their national under-21 representative Nadia Loveday, who was overseas on international duty.