YMP look to go unbeaten again

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

WITH the round-robin stage of the Pak’nSave Premier Netball Competition at the halfway mark, reigning champions YMP (1) are looking like they could make history by retaining their title with back-to-back unbeaten records.

IMS High School Old Girls, remain the most likely challengers to the champions but after suffering a 61-36 hammering at the hands of the champions on Wednesday night, they still have a lot of ground to make up if they are to dethrone the team from Manutuke.

YMP have the day off tomorrow, and with the game between Whangara Old Girls and Gisborne Girls’ High School the only fixture remaining in the round, the champions are likely to take a 10-point lead into the next phase of the competition.

Still undefeated this season and boasting the competition’s most frugal defence and the highest-scoring attack, YMP look on course for a history-making season, after last year taking the title without a single on-court defeat.

Gisborne Netball Centre manager Alissa Hall confirmed that if YMP could repeat last season’s feat it would be the first time in recorded history a Gisborne premier team had gone undefeated twice.

“The last time a team went unbeaten through the season and won the Jan Duncan Memorial Trophy (for premier winners) was in 2009 when Whangara Old Girls did it. Since then teams have come close, but have fallen short during semis.”

The year after Whangara went through undefeated they remained unbeaten through both round-robin rounds, but never made the final.

“So it doesn’t look like a two-season run has been done before, unless it was before our computer records from 2009.”

YMP co-coach Irene Takao said consistency in personnel and good play right through the court were keys to the team’s continued dominance.

“The bones of the team are very strong, and even though we have some work to do, I think we can do better,” she said.

“I’m just really encouraged by the development of our young players. There is not a lot of experience in there but they are getting experience as they go along because they are playing so well.”

Takao said the midcourt had been excellent to date, while the shooters had remained consistent and the defenders were still getting better.

“The biggest thing now is just to maintain what we have got and work on from there.”

Tomorrow’s game between Whangara and Girls’ High wraps up the first round-robin stage, after Horouta Gold beat Girls’ High 55-42 midweek.