Jess Laws at GS for University of Waikato Premier gets defended by Calais Topia-Chesley at GK for HGHS Langman. Photo / Judy Macdonald
Hamilton City Netball Centre Indoor Premier Results for week 1
St Paul’s Premier 57 vs Marist Verdettes Premier (2) 17
University of Waikato Premier Reserves 44 vs Northern United Sports Club Mamba 38
Allied HOB Collins Premier 35 vs FTNC Premier 78
Align Health Rangers Premier 55 vs FTNC Premier Reserve 35
Align Health Rangers Premier Reserve 71 vs Melville Vetora Premier 20
HGHS Old Girls Premier 48 vs Waikato Diocesan for Girls Premier 18
Marist Verdettes Premier (1) 55 vs St Peter’s Premier 33
University of Waikato Premier 35 vs HGHS Langman 36
Hamilton CityNetball Centre’s premier indoor competition started on May 2 when the 16 teams kicked off their first week of matches. The competition is split into Premier grades A and B.
Premier A includes Align Health Rangers Premier 1, Allied HOB Collins Premier, FTNC Premier, FTNC Premier Reserve, HGHS Langman, Marist Verdettes Premier 1, St Peter’s Premier and University of Waikato Premier.
Premier B includes HGHS Old Girls Premier, Align Health Rangers Premier 2, Marist Verdettes Premier 2, Melville Vetora Premier, Northern United Sports Club Mamba, St Paul’s Premier, University of Waikato Premier Reserves and Waikato Diocesan for Girls Premier.
As always at the beginning of a round-robin, there were some big scores plus a couple of close games in both grades. There has also been a few player lineup changes among the teams along with two new teams promoted recently into the indoor competition.
Premier A
University of Waikato Premier and HGHS Langman had an absolute stunner of a game. A mainly new lineup for both these teams saw a game that was a goal for goal each quarter with the HGHS Langman slightly ahead in each quarter. At halftime, the score was 19 – 18 and HGHS Langman managed to hang onto the lead and they won the game 36 goals to 35.
Align Health Rangers Premier took a while to dominate in their game against a competitive FTNC Premier Reserve team. At halftime, Rangers Premier led 24 goals to 21 but they won the game 55 goals to 35 with a massive third quarter. FTNC Premier Reserve did manage to win the final quarter.
Marist Verdettes Premier 1 had a close first quarter against St Peters Premier before dominating the rest of the game. The halftime score was 27 goals to 17 and the fulltime score was 55 goals to 33.
FTNC Premier were too good for Allied HOB Collins Premier winning every quarter. At half time they led 39 to 18 and the full-time score was 78 to 35.
Premier B
University of Waikato Premier Reserve and Northern United Sports Club (NUSC) Mamba had a great tussle with the game reasonably close except for the first quarter which saw University Premier Reserve get a good lead which NUSC Mamba was not able to recover from.
The halftime score was 25 goals to 18 and the final score was 44 goals to 38. This was the closest game within the Premier B teams.
Recently promoted HGHS Old Girls Premier started the competition with a good win over Waikato Diocesan for Girls Premier winning each quarter. The halftime score was 23 goals to 11 and the full-time score was 48 goals to 18.
St Paul’s Premier won their game against Marist Verdettes Premier 2. The young school team showed they were serious providing a consistent performance over the four quarters. They led at halftime by 30 goals to 13 and won the game 57 goals to 17.
Another newly promoted team Align Health Rangers Premier Reserve also had a great start to the season with a win over Melville Vetora Premier, also winning every quarter. At half time they led by 35 goals to 13 and won the game convincingly 71 goals to 20.
Games are again on a Thursday night at The Peak and there will be an initial round-robin of seven games. Supporters and spectators are welcome.