Defending champions Harcourts and Makoura College will do battle in the grand final of Netball Wairarapa's premier one competition next weekend.
They earned the right to play off for the title with wins in semifinal matches played in stormy conditions at the Colombo Rd courts on Saturday, Harcourts accounting for Wairarapa College 45-32 and Makoura College edging out Carterton New World Legends 51-47.
That Harcourts should make it to the competition decider was practically guaranteed after their unbeaten record in preliminary round fixtures but they did not have everything their own way against a gutsy Wairarapa College side well primed by a series of tough encounters at the lower North Island secondary schools tournament last week.
The students contested strongly right through the court and while Harcourts always looked the likely winners, Wairarapa College had good reason to feel satisfied with their efforts.
Makoura College and Carterton New World Legends were always expected to have a closely-contested match and so it was with Makoura starting the stronger, Legends coming right into contention with a profitable third quarter and Makoura having a slight edge in that vital last 15 minutes.
Makoura coach Dayle Clarkson said the challenge for her side was to maintain a structured approach against more experienced opposition in difficult conditions and she was delighted with the manner they responded.
"We were a lot more accurate than we have been in some of our other games, the error rate was a lot lower and we needed it to be," Clarkson said.
The ability of Te Kapua Haira and Bailey Pederson to find space in the shooting circle and then make their shots count was a major plus for Makoura as was the tight defence of players like Madison Tufuga, Kata Matapuku and Ana Garnet.
Makoura College's win took them their second grand final in as many seasons, the big difference being that last year they ended up winning the premier reserve title.
"Yes, they've come a long way in 12 months, they've really worked hard to get where they are now," coach Clarkson said.
"We know we will be the underdogs next Saturday but if we go out there and give it our best shot who knows what might happen. It's an exciting opportunity and we will be ready for it," Clarkson said.
Semifinal results in other grades were:
Premier reserve: Hellz Hot Shots 41, Wairarapa College B 24; Carterton New World Red 35, Eketahuna 26.
Premier two: Hiona 22, Chanel Junior A 13; St Matthew's Junior A 13, Carterton New World White 9.
Premier three: Carterton New World Misfits 14, Chanel A 13; Pioneer Red 19, Featherston Black Sox 16.
Premier four: Wairarapa College Red 16, Carterton New World Social 14; Wairarapa College B2 22, Makoura TKT 10 19.
Senior A: Greytown Gold 16, St Matthew's Junior B 14; Masterton Flames 32, Kuranui Blue 9.
Senior reserve: St Matthew's Junior Red 14, Kuranui White 5; Wairarapa College Intermediate B 16, Wairarapa College Blue 15.
Other results were:
Premier one: Baywide Gladstone beat Pioneer Blue by default, St Matthew's Collegiate 54, Carterton New World Lynx 28.
Premier reserve: Trevs 1 47, St Matthew's B 11.
Premier two: Kuranui Red 17, Wairarapa College Intermediate A 12.
Premier three: Trevs 2 18, Solway Silver 12; Solway Green 24, Trevs 3 14.
Premier four: Wairarapa College Junior A 19, Greytown Black 13; Makoura TKT 9 16, Nga Iwi 6.
Senior A: DPS Old Girls 18, Solway White 9; Chanel B 12, St Matthew's Gold 5.
Senior reserve: Wairarapa College Junior B 38, St Matthew's Collegiate Junior Blue 8.