For the fourth year in a row, a team made up of players from the Mid North and Bay of Islands has dominated the Whangarei premier netball competition.
Even more remarkable about this particular feat was the presence of Rowena Davis-Cooper and Alisha Takimoana in this year's title-winning team, withthe pair able to claim three premier netball centre championship winners' medals in one winter.
The pair were among five players in the United Kawakawa side which convincingly won the Kerikeri premier championship in pouring rain on Saturday afternoon, before claiming the Whangarei premier title with Active Fideliter 1 later that same day. With the Kerikeri title in the bag, the quintet immediately left for Whangarei to play with Fideliter 1, which beat Helena Bay Whangaruru 72-55 at Kensington Stadium later that night.
Saturday's twin victories made it a trifecta of titles for Davis-Cooper and Takimoana as they also featured in the Moerewa Tigers side which took out the Bay of Islands centre's premier title the previous weekend, beating Hokianga Sports Club 53-46 (see last Thursday's Age).
Sharna May, one of the five above-mentioned girls, noted that they played in the Kerikeri final which started at 12.30pm, finishing one hour later then travelled to Whangarei to meet at 3pm and prepare for the Whangarei finals, which began at 7.30pm.
"That could be considered as full-on. But not for these girls. They love the game they play with passion, and team unity and love just getting together just to play netball. This team is made up of family members, we are all pretty much related and competitive!" May said, adding that Fideliter 1 have won the Whangarei competition for four years in a row. She admitted the Whangarei competition organisers were probably starting to get tired of the Far North interlopers, "which is why we keep going back!"
She went on to observe that Fideliter 1 was the biggest club in the province, catering for nine teams, all of which wouldn't be possible without the guidance of club captain Emma Miller, while the sponsors were also thanked for providing uniforms.
A brief review of the two abovementioned finals on Saturday features inside.
