Final shape of top four to be found tomorrow

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

THE final shape of Gisborne premier-grade netball's top four will be determined at the YMCA tomorrow night.

One result is highly predictable; the other is not.

YMP (1) sit unassailably on top of the table followed by the equally uncatchable Claydens Waikohu (1).

But for three of the four remaining premier-grade sides, the matches tomorrow night can best be described as “crunch”.

Whangara Old Girls have finished their round-robin games and sit in fourth place on 13 points.

They can only wait and see what happens tomorrow night.

JT Contractors Horouta Gold are in third place on 15 points. They look all but certain to be in the playoffs to decide who contests the grand final.

But top-four prospects remain very much alive for the other two teams, including sixth-placed F45 High School Old Girls, who have 10 points.

The untangling of possibilities starts at 6pm tomorrow night when YMP (1) play Gillies Electrical Gisborne Girls' High School Senior A. The students can expect a stern test of their mettle.

YMP (1) have been very strong in all areas of the court, and remain unbeaten.

In all of their outings this year they have given good displays of netball skills and have worked together as a team.

On the positive side for Girls' High, it will be their last game of the round and, on 12 points, they could sneak into the top four if they could get a single bonus point for getting within five goals of their opponents.

The students should go into the game with confidence, use the good attacking skills that they have, and enjoy themselves.

They showed their fighting spirit admirably in their loss to Waikohu on Saturday.

The second match tomorrow night could produce the biggest shift in the shape of the top four.

High School Old Girls play Horouta Gold.

If HSOG win, and Girls' High stay on their current points, HSOG would move into fourth spot on the table.

It has been a win apiece when these two teams have met this season, and both games were closely contested.

The last game, at the end of June, was a 52-50 win for Horouta Gold.

But the prospect of High School Old Girls making the top four and the semifinals, starting next Wednesday, will no doubt encourage Alex Sinclair's team to dig that much deeper tomorrow night.

This will be a close game and both teams' supporters will be out in force at the YMCA.