Whangārei premier netball: Whangaruru beat Manawanui White in fourth quarter blitz

The usually dynamic Manawanui outfit, seen here, had no answer to Whangaruru's dominance in the fourth quarter on Friday. Photo / File

A 21-goal fourth quarter has given Whangaruru a vital 56-41 win over the dangerous Manawanui White at ASB Stadium on Friday.

After all teams had two weeks off from the Whangārei premier netball competition, Whangaruru were ready for their return as they kept pace with Manawanui through the first half and were leading 35-33 at the end of the third quarter.

Come the final 15 minutes, Whangaruru were in total control, scoring over 20 goals and restricting their opponents to only eight further goals.

"Big ups to Whangaruru, they played some really sensible netball," Manawanui manager Mo Matautia-Tepania said.

"The first half was amazing, we had a really good start, we came off the line nicely but come the third quarter, we made changes and for whatever reason, we just derailed and couldn't stick to the game-plan."

Matautia-Tepania said basic errors hurt her team as they failed to recover from Whangaruru's fourth quarter blitz. While she acknowledged the possible effect of a two-week break, Matautia-Tepania said her team's experienced players needed to stand up with only one game to go before finals.

"We are at the business end and these girls are experienced players, they've been at this level for a long time but we need to execute our game-plan better and be consistent all the way."

Whangaruru were not available for comment before deadline.

The round's other games saw league leaders The Bubz confirm their top spot on the table with a 68-51 win over Whangārei Girls' High School (WGHS) while Naumai beat Wahine Toa, 58-45.

Whangaruru's win throws the top four into contention with only one game left for all teams. While Whangaruru move up two spots to second, Manawanui and WGHS drop down one to third and fourth respectively.