University of Waikato Premier team the Waikato Premier Indoor Netball champs. Photo / Judy Macdonald
University of Waikato Premier team the Waikato Premier Indoor Netball champs. Photo / Judy Macdonald
Indoor Premier Results – Championship Round Iwi Karearea Premier 47 vs Verdettes Marist Premier 41 Waikato Diocesan Open A 50 vs St Paul's Collegiate Open A 45 Nottingham Castle Rangers 44 vs FTNC Premier 45 FTNC Premier Reserve 57 vs University of Waikato Premier Reserve 40 St Peter's Premier 58 vs Hamilton Girls High Premier 33 University of Waikato Premier 54 vs Verdettes Marist Old Girls 48
In the indoor premier netball final University of Waikato Premier met Verdettes Marist Old Girls with Uni Premier taking their 11th consecutive title in front of a large crowd
In the first quarter you got an indication of just how close and competitive these two teams were.
Uni Premier took a narrow two goal lead at the end of the first quarter with the score 13 goals to 11. Marist Old Girls came out strongly second quarter to dominate and at half time led by 24 goals to 22.
Uni Premier retaliated in the third quarter to lead by 40 goals to 35 after making some team changes.
The final quarter was close and minutes before the final whistle only two goals separated the teams.
Uni Premier got turnover ball and were able to also convert off their own centre pass which in the end gave them the win.The final score was 54 goals to 48.
This was a great game and lived up to player expectations.The final score was not a reflection of how close this game was for the most part.
For Uni Premier it was another tight game which they always knew it was going to be and it was a grind right till the end.
Marist Old Girls played a smart and intelligent game and they were composed and controlled throughout the court.
Uni Premier managed to capitalise off turnovers in the second half at opportune times.
The mid court combination also used speed to their advantage particularly in the second half.
It was a team effort and everybody did their bit to get the team across the line for their 11 consecutive title.
For Marist Old Girls the team and crowd seemed quiet and subdued against the backdrop of the other games being played.
All players that took the court played with guts and heart and the standouts were Pourewa Ruri Clarke at goal keep at one end and Tiana Tuuta at goal shoot at the other, both of whom contributed to the team staying in the hunt. Overall it was a fitting final.
Te Kaweora Enoka Barton, Umpire and winner of Sylvia/Knowles trophy. Photo / Judy Macdonald
In the all college final between St Peter's Premier and Hamilton Girls High Premier it was a different story, but not unexpected with St Peter's dominating the game for most of the 60 minutes.
They had a very strong first quarter to lead by 20 goals to 8 and at half time they led by 34 goals to 12.
The third quarter played out in a similar way with the score being 52 goals to 19 but in the final quarter St Peters made some interesting positional changes that allowed Hamilton Girls High to win the final quarter.
St Peters were the confident winners with the final score being 58 goals to 33.
Again a lot of spectator support for this final and great to see so much talent and promise in the up and coming players from both these teams.
In the final between the bottom ranked teams based on final round ranking, Fraser Tech Netball Centre Premier Reserve met University of Waikato Premier Reserve to battle it out.
The game was closely contested in the first half with FTNC Premier Reserve having a narrow one goal lead.
By half time however they had gone from strength to strength to lead by 29 goals to 15.
The third quarter was the same but the final quarter was again very close with University Premier Reserve winning this by a goal.
But it really was all too little, too late with the final score being 57 goals to 40.
In the other games FTNC Premier had a narrow one goal win over Nottingham Castle Rangers in what was a game of two halves to have them finish 3rd in the competition.
Castle Rangers started well to lead by three goals at the end of the first quarter and to lead by six goals at half time. The score was 23 goals to 17.
FNTC Premier then turned the tables and had a strong third quarter to be just a goal behind at three quarter time.
And they finished strong to also win the final quarter.The final score was 45 goals to 44.
Waikato Diocesan Open A and St Paul Collegiate Open A had a lively and competitive game to determine third and fourth.
Waikato Diocesan led by one goal at the end of the first quarter but by half time had increased their lead to be ahead by five goals.The half time score was 29 goals to 24.
St Paul's had a good third quarter to win this by a goal and Waikato Diocesan won the final quarter by a goal.
Essentially for St Paul's the damage was done in the second quarter.
The final score was 50 goals to 45.This too was a game with a large number of spectators and there was some lovely netball played by the teams.
In the other game Iwi Karearea Premier had a competitive game against Verdettes Marist Premier who showed that they had come to play.
Iwi Premier had a one goal lead at the end of the first quarter and the second quarter was a draw.
The half time score was 24 goals to 23. Iwi Premier had a strong third quarter which saw them leap ahead with an eight goal advantage going into the final quarter.
Marist Premier came back in the final quarter to narrow the gap to just six.The final score was 47 goals to 41.
At the conclusion of the games there was a presentation to the winning teams.
Other awards on the night included average most goals scored which went to Verdettes Marist Old Girls and average least goals scored against and this went to FTNC Premier.
A few umpire awards were also presented including Te Kaweora Enoka Barton receiving the Sylvia/Knowles trophy for a senior umpire who has achieved NZ level; Ruth Robinson won the Fran Henderson Memorial trophy for achievements without demanding recognition and Wids Wilson won the Bird Award trophy for show all round performance excellence.
