Netball: Unbeaten Hamilton premier teams battle to a draw

Team huddle of Marist Verdettes Old Girls after the draw. Photo / Judy Macdonald

Indoor Premier Results
FTNC Premier 67 vs St Peters Cambridge Open A 37
Waikato Diocesan Open A 54 vs Marist Verdettes Premier 45
Uni Premier 49 vs Marist Verdettes Old Girls 49
FTNC Premier Reserve 45 vs Nottingham Castle Rangers 52

In the seventh and final week of the Trust Waikato Hamilton City Netball Centre Indoor Premier netball round robin competition there were some outstanding games in particular the game between Uni Premier and Marist Verdettes Old Girls, both unbeaten in the competition to date.

At various times both teams led but the overall result was a draw indicating just how close these two teams are.

Both teams benefited from the return of their WBOP Magic and WBOP Beko players as did Fraser Tech Netball Club Premier.

Uni Premier held a slim three goal lead at both the end of the first quarter and at half time with the score being 26 goals to 23.

Marist Old Girls then slowly clawed back the gap over the third and final quarters to end the game at 49 goals all.

The skills displayed on court were amazing with neither team giving an inch.

There were some athletic and fast phases of play with some dynamic turnovers.

For Marist Verdettes Old Girls the whole team came together with an outstanding defensive and attacking effort and hard to single out individual players.

For Uni Premier the standout was Natalie Mourits who came on at wing defence and picked up a lot of ball while proving a calm influence on attack.

In the game to determine top four for the championship round next week Nottingham Castle Rangers had a one goal lead over FTNC Premier Reserve at the end of the first quarter which they increased to a two goal lead by half time with the score being 25 goals to 23.

Rangers had a better third quarter to increase their lead to five goals and again in the final quarter winning the game 52 goals to 45. Nottingham Castle Rangers will be happy with their 4th place and FTNC Premier Reserve disappointed to come so close.

For Nottingham Castle Rangers it was a must win game and therefore intense for the whole game.

Monica Falkner at GA for Marist Verdettes Old Girls. Photo / Judy Macdonald

Consistency and composure by the whole team gave them the win.

Jess Fabling at wing defence and Emma Lee Rowe at goal defence played a strong defensive game and gained good possession for the attacking end.

For FTNC Premier Reserve Charlotte Gray at goal shoot played with confidence, getting up high and staying strong in pulling in ball and rebounds.

Waikato Diocesan Open A will be ecstatic with their first win of the season and they had a great game against Marist Verdettes Premier leading from start to finish.

At the end of the first quarter they led by seven goals and at half time they led by 10 goals with the score being 29 goals to 19.

The third quarter was a draw and the final quarter saw Waikato Diocesan increase their lead by one goal to win the game 54 goals to 45. Overall a great result for the young team.

This means that the bottom three teams have all had one win apiece in this first round.

For Waikato Diocesan all players were able to take the court.

Charlotte Pyke at goal attack was outstanding dominating the circle.

Overall the shooting percentage statistics for all shooters were in the high 90's.

Some nice phases of play from Marist Verdettes Premier team but just not their night.
 
FTNC Premier dominated for the whole 60 minutes in their game against St Peters Cambridge Open A who were still missing a few players.

FTNC Premier at half time led by 14 goals with the score 34 goals to 20 only to see them almost double this in the second half to win 67 goals to 37.

A great performance by the team that see them ranked 3rd at the end of this first round.

For FTNC Premier all players took the court and got court time.

It was great to see Emily Patterson at goal defence and Hannah Riddle-Pelchen at goal shoot back in the team following a successful Beko season and also Kate Littlejohn at goal keep having returned from rowing in the UK.

For St Peters they came back this week with fight in their game and they showed a lot of courage.

An injury to Kaycee Smith at centre in the second quarter was unfortunate but great to have Captain Georgie Edgecombe back at goal defence and goal keep. Edgecombe has just made the NZ Secondary School team, an outstanding achievement and well deserved.

Jorjia Metcalfe at wing defence played a great game keeping the opposing attacks off circle edge and getting good ball through court.
Overall another good effort and learning experience for the team.

From 9 August 2018 the premier indoor competition will see the teams break into top four and bottom four and they will play another round robin of three weeks before playing finals.