Netball: All In and Toki Toa taste victory in new men's league

The Toki Toa men's netball side which beat Te Wairoa 51-37 on Sunday. Photo/Supplied

Here's some info for Hawke's Bay sports trivia buffs to store for future reference.

Toki Toa and All In were the winning teams when Hawke's Bay Netball's inaugural men's league first round matches were played at Taradale's Pettigrew-Green Arena on Sunday.

"It was fantastic to finally see this competition get off the ground, after the increased profile of men's netball nationally through the Cadbury Netball Series earlier in the year, it was our time to put a peg in the sand and go for it," Hawke's Bay Netball general manager Tina Arlidge said.

"Although it would have been great to have a couple more teams, four teams enabled the competition to go ahead and we are looking forward to growing it from here."

Arlidge congratulated the Toki Incorporated and All In netball clubs for getting in behind this new competition and providing opportunities for males under their club entity.

"Through this we were also pleased to have our region's best umpires and bench officials continue their development through the fast paced game the men provide. Spectators were also treated well with the flair and skill the men provided in the first round," Arlidge added.

Toki Toa led 13-8 after the first quarter of their match against Te Wairoa. After improving in the second quarter when they were beaten by one goal Te Wairoa trailed 22-16 at halftime.

Toki Toa led 35-26 after the third quarter which saw Te Wairoa stay within three goals. Toki Toa repeated their first quarter feat in the final quarter and outscored Te Wairoa by five to secure a 51-37 victory and the favourite's tag for the remainder of the season.

Toki Toa's outstanding shooter Troy Skipworth played goal attack in the second half and sunk 23 of his 26 attempts to finish with an 88 per cent success rate. Te Wairoa's best shooter, Tony Robin, played three quarters of the match in the attacking circle and sunk 23 of his 30 attempts for a 77 per cent success rate.

All In took on a HB Tane side which was only assembled 30 minutes before the start whistle so this was always going to be a tough assignment for them. However they were pleasantly surprised by their competitive first quarter before All In produced a late three-goal run to take an 8-6 lead.

All In led 21-12 at halftime, 37-17 after the third quarter and 52-24 when the final whistle blew. George Watson was All In's best shooter and sunk 21 of his 27 attempts for a 78 per cent success rate while playing goal shoot in the second half.

Cameron Rafferty-Powell was responsible for 17 of HB Tane's 24 goals despite having a 52 per cent success rate.

On Sunday from 2pm Toki Toa will take on HB Tane and All In will meet Te Wairoa at Pettigrew-Green Arena.