HSOG close in on playoffs, Waikohu confirmed

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

IMS HSOG have all but secured a place in the top four playoffs after beating second-placed Whangara Old Girls 1 47-45 in a premier grade netball thriller at the YMCA last night.

Horouta Gold’s top-four hopes, however, were dealt an almost fatal blow as defending champions YMP 1 bounced back from their loss last week to beat the Golden Girls 51-43.

Horouta’s defeat also confirmed Claydens Waikohu’s place in the title playoffs. They join YMP and Whangara while the fourth and final spot is still to be decided.

HSOG can seal that this weekend with a win over bottom-of-the-table Farmlands Ngatapa in the last game of round 3.

From the first whistle of the Whangara-HSOG game last night, it was clear both teams were on form and ready for battle.

The first quarter was dominated by fast-paced, back-and-forth play but few goals. Both midcourts held nothing back in challenging for the ball while ironclad defence all but closed off access to the circle.

An impressive turnover forced by HSOG goal defence Alex Sinclair, who shone throughout the game, was a highlight as Whangara ended the quarter 11-10 ahead.

The second quarter followed a similar pattern. Defences continued to shut down movement in the circle, pushing shooters further out and instigating a number of turnovers.

Another stunning effort by Sinclair, who tipped a shot directly to centre Roimata Katipa, spurred HSOG into action.

The whole team went into overdrive, — even Ashleigh Brown got into the action with an intercept at the midcourt end of her goal third — to build a four-goal lead.

Whangara did not panic and made HSOG pay for a few missed shots to finish the quarter one goal behind (21-20).

Yet another crowd-rousing Sinclair intercept off the centre pass at the start of the final quarter set the scene for HSOG to push towards victory.

While possession was fairly even, HSOG’s attack saw them open up a three-goal lead.

Both teams delivered some impressive offensive play but the combination of Sinclair and goal keep Bayleigh Harrison denied Whangara more scoring opportunities.

HSOG coach Kelly Warren was “stoked” as HSOG moved one step closer to the playoffs.

“Everyone played awesome. We’ve been building up to this, we knew a win was a must.”

YMP’s win moved them to 45 points, Whangara are on 31, Waikohu 27, Horouta 25, HSOG 24, Gisborne Girls’ High Senior A 17 and Ngatapa 6.

A win over Ngatapa on Saturday will secure HSOG a playoffs spot.