Makoura set sights on top six

Makoura College are intent on doing a lot more than just make up the numbers in this season's Netball Wairarapa premier one competition, which gets under way at the Genesis Recreation Centre tonight and the Colombo Rd courts tomorrow.
It is the first time for several years _ if not ever _ that Makoura College have played in the elite grade and coach Janine Southey-Tupaea says they are aiming to make a name for themselves, even to the point of advancing through to the top six playoffs.
''We know it's a big step up but we are ready for it,'' she said.
''Top six is definitely the goal, that's where we want to be''.
Southey-Tupaea was delighted with the resolve shown by her young side _ only two are Year 13 students _ when they played Carterton Legends in the first round of promotion-relegation games last week.
They trailed by four goals at halftime but pulled out all the stops over the last two quarters to run out comfortable 45-29 winners.
''It was a good test for the girls, they had to dig deep mentally and physically,'' she said.
''They showed a lot of heart, and that's what you need.''
Two members of the Makoura line-up, shooter Bailey Peterson and defender Katarina Matapuku, are currently in the Wellington high-performance development squad, while there are likely to be few more accurate shooters on the local scene than captain Sheridan Gallon-Puhara. Joining them are Yve Te Tau, Rennie Hemara, Brooke Burch, Summa Burch, Anna Garnett, Jenny Aeto and a couple of youngsters in Elleshia Clarkson and Sevanna O'Connor who have been included with an eye to the future.
Coach Southey expects Makoura College to continue to be a force in Wairarapa netball in the years ahead, with their number of inter-club teams increasing this year from three to five.
''We've got some exciting talent in the junior grades as well, so it all looks very promising,'' she said.
All told 10 teams will be involved in premier one preliminary round play this season, with the top six at the end of that round going forward to play for the main championship. Interestingly, there are now four colleges with premier one sides _ Wairarapa, St Matthew's, Kuranui and Makoura.
Tonight's games see Carterton Legends playing Harcourts and Pioneer up against St Matthew's Collegiate, while at Colombo Rd tomorrow it will be Carterton New World vs Wairarapa College, Gladstone All Blacks vs Makoura College and Fagan Hot Shots vs Kuranui College.