Hamilton City Netball Centre premier competition heating up

Courtney Rohrlach at GA for Waikato Diocesan Open A. Photo / Judy Macdonald

Indoor Premier Netball Results for May 20

Allied HOB Keppler Premier 50 vs University of Waikato Premier 42
OTC Timber HGHS Langman 51 vs University of Waikato Premier Reserve 28
Verdettes Marist Premier 46 vs St Peter's Premier 66
Waikato Diocesan Open A 44 vs FTNC Premier Reserve 56
Nottingham Castle Rangers 42 vs FTNC Premier 44
St Paul's Premier 30 vs Verdettes Marist Old Girls 60

The third week of the Hamilton City Netball Centre (HCNC) premier indoor competition saw closer and more competitive games overall.

Nottingham Castle Rangers were again in another nail-biter, this time against FTNC Premier with the result in the balance right up to the final minutes.

FTNC Premier had an awesome start to the game, and they were ahead by 14 goals to 6 at the end of the first quarter. Castle Rangers stepped it up a gear in the second quarter, showing they had come to play, and at halftime they had reduced the deficient to two goals with the score being 23 goals to 21.

The third quarter was goal for goal but again Castle Rangers were able to claw back to be a goal adrift. The three-quarter score was 32 goals to 31.

In the final quarter Castle Rangers creeped to be ahead by a goal but in the dying minutes errors meant that FTNC Premier were able to compose themselves and take the win 44 goals to 42.

A great contested match that was exciting to watch. For FTNC Premier it was a controlled and dominant start for the team this week. Unfortunately, the players failed to find the next gear and allowed the Castle Rangers side to capitalise on precious turnover ball in the second quarter.

Third and fourth quarters showed the true battle of the game with both teams winning these quarters by one goal apiece each. Dawn Wakelin at wing attack showed her maturity on court with her calm controlled play of the ball through court. Overall a great game for the FTNC Premier team displaying the continued growth early in the season.

For Castle Rangers, they knew they needed a solid performance to beat a youthful and fired up FTNC side. Starting with a new shooting combination Castle Rangers were slow to get started but had a much improved second quarter.

Outstanding vision and classy feeds into the shooting circle from Alison Priestley at wing attack saw the team head into the second half feeling confident.

It was again a gutsy performance from a solid circle defence combination of Tammy Shead and Tegan Broomfield and their efforts saw Castle Rangers gain many turnover balls only in some instances for this to be thrown away or not converted down the attack end. Consistency in performance and scoring off turnover ball is what the team will focus on next week.

Allied HOB Keppler Premier vs University of Waikato Premier.

Allied HOB had a four-goal lead at the end of the first quarter, ahead 14 goals to 10. They increased their lead in the second quarter to be ahead 28 goals to 19. The third quarter was a draw with neither team conceding an inch. The score was 41 goals to 32.

The final quarter was again goal for goal with University Premier taking this by a goal, but this clearly was not enough with Allied HOB the winners on the night 50 goals to 42.

For Allied HOB they are continuing to build each week and although the game was not error free, they were able to capitalise on the ball that mattered, and it was a full team performance.

Chloe Carr Paterson at WA for St Paul's Premier. Photo / Judy Macdonald

The defence circle of T'neya Onehi-Karena and Pare Gilmartin-Kara continually worked to turn over the ball and are forming a great combination in the circle. Leila Green and Phillipa Hokianga at wing defence at different times both did a great job in restricting the experienced wing attack for the opposition.

The attacking combinations played a stunning attacking game where the speed of the ball moved with ease. Kataraina Ormsby at wing attack had an outstanding game. For University Premier as an almost completely new team they are improving in terms of performance each week and showed some great timing and speed through court.

However, they are still searching for consistency for the duration of the game. Ex player Ngawai Hawera returning from Japan in at wing attack provided much-needed leadership and experience to the team.

Waikato Diocesan Open A vs FTNC Premier Reserve.

FTNC Premier Reserve had a two-goal lead at the end of the first quarter, up 13 goals to 11. They had a strong second quarter to increase their lead at halftime with the score being 28 goals to 21.

The third quarter was close but FTNC Premier Reserve again managed to creep a bit ahead to lead 38 goals to 29. The final quarter was high scoring by both teams and again not much in it.

Ngawai Hawera at WA for Waikato University Premier. Photo / Judy Macdonald

FTNC Premier Reserve won the game 56 goals to 44. For FTNC Premier Reserve the connections have started working for the team, with Georgia Pompey at centre linking the defence and attack beautifully, making good connections with Caitlyn Parrot at wing attack to drive the attacking line-up.

Te Miringa Te Uria-Kearns came on in the second quarter and had a great game at wing attack, with strong drives and beautiful passing into the shooters. The defensive end of Emma Sharland, Jennifer Adam (circle defence) and Caitlan Ridling at wing defence, worked as a strong unit, gaining turnover ball with clean intercepts and strong pressure over the ball.

The shooting end also worked well, with the ever consistent, Ola Sii Talakai at goal shoot, shooting a high percentage and linking well with Taylah Mason at goal attack, who worked the circle well.

Georgia Gibbs, who started the game, then came back to end the game at goal attack really make a difference with strong attacking play and great shooting stats. Hinehea Keil at centre for one quarter made an impact at centre mid-game, taking control of the game with pinpoint accurate passes into the shooters.

For Waikato Diocesan it was an improved team performance this week with a more consistent and structured game. An outstanding individual performance was seen by Grace Wilson in goal shoot and, Sophia Scaramuzza in at wing defence who stepped up to the challenge very well, particularly for a young player new to this competition.

Other games

Verdettes Marist Premier and St Peter's Premier had a great game which was also exciting to watch.

St Peter's started well with a strong first and second quarter to lead by 36 goals to 24. Marist Premier had a strong third quarter winning this by a goal but then again St Peter's were dominant in the final quarter winning the game 66 goals to 46. Some nice netball on display in this game.

Leash Fielding at C for Allied HOB Keppler Premier. Photo / Judy Macdonald

OTC Timber HGHS Langman had another outstanding game despite still missing some key players.

They led from start to finish, winning each quarter in their game against University of Waikato Premier Reserve although University Premier Reserve did have a competitive and close first quarter with only three goals the difference, the score being 14 goals to 11.

However, the rest of the game was dominated by HGHS and they were relentless. The halftime score was 27 goals to 15 and the final score was 51 goals to 28.

In the final game, Verdettes Marist Old Girls were too experienced and strong for St Paul's Premier and they too led from the start. They had a slow start with the first quarter goal for goal and drawn at 10 goals apiece. After that they just stepped it up a gear and put the throttle down. The halftime score was 32 goals to 15 and the fulltime score was 60 goals to 30.