Netball
Wairarapa showed encouraging signs in their 59-46 defeat by table-topping St Mary's College (Wellington) in the Wellington regional super league competition last Thursday night.
It was the resolve of Wairarapa which impressed most. After a less-than-perfect start which saw them fail to turn eight defensive turnovers into points on the board, they trailed 17-5 at the end of the first quarter. However, it was a different story in the second when they were more consistent and accurate in their play and by netting 100 per cent of their goals actually outscored their opposition over that period by six, trailing by just 27-21 at halftime.
The lift in effort delighted coach Dayle Clarkson who said the tight defensive structure had reaped rich rewards with several prime scoring chances created.
The second half saw Wairarapa maintain the momentum and push St Mary's hard and while the latter recovered composure to win by 13 goals they were well tested.
Wairarapa skipper Kerewai Tatana was very happy with her team's effort, saying it was encouraging to make quality opposition work overtime for their victory. "We've come a long way in a very short space of time and are looking forward for further improvement in the next round," Tatana said.
Outstanding for Wairarapa in what was a solid team effort were the defensive trio of Stevie Paine, Evie Langlands and Anna Garnett while Rennie Hemara shone on attack.
Meanwhile, matches in Netball Wairarapa's premier one championship continued at the Colombo Road courts on Saturday with results being pretty much as anticipated.
Eketahuna, which had been so impressive in the grading round games, bounced back from their hefty defeat to Harcourts with a 46-41 win over Wairarapa College.
Harcourts maintained their unbeaten record with a 51-20 beating of Carterton New World Vipers, Celtic looked in ominous touch in their 69-17 defeat of Baywide Gladstone and Pioneer Blue beat St Matthew's Collegiate 54-27.
Lower grade results:-
Premier reserve: Hot Shots 37, Carterton New World Red 37; Trevs 50, Makoura A 49.
Premier two: Carterton New World White 21, Wairarapa College B 12; Solway A 12, St Matthew's B 11; Pioneer Red 22, Wairarapa College B 14; Chanel A 26, Greytown Red 14; Mainfreight Hotties 20, St Matthew's Junior A 18.
Premier three: Wairarapa College Intermediate A 15, Makoura Junior A 9; Featherston 31, Pioneer White 24; Trevs Pick n Mix 24, Opaki Old Girls 23; East Coast 25, Martinborough 19.
Premier four: Wairarapa College Masters 37, Wairarapa College Intermediate B 8; Wairarapa College Junior A 29, Greytown Black 16; Kuranui A 28, Makoura B 17.
Senior A: Chanel Junior A 24, Kuranui White 23; St Matthew; s Junior B 22, Wairarapa College Blue 17; Masterton Flames 33, Wairarapa College Red 23; DPS Old Girls 25, Carterton New World Social 8.
Senior reserve: Solway Junior A 18, Makoura Junior B 11; Kuranui Maroon 30, St Matthew's Junior Gold 10; Wairarapa College Junior B 21, Wairarapa College Junior Blue 9.
Senior B: Chanel Junior B 31, St Matthew's C 13; Kuranui Blue 14, St Matthew's Junior Green 11; Wairarapa College Intermediate Blue 20, Wairarapa College Junior Red 12.
Intermediate and primary school results were:-
Grade one: Lakeview A 38, MIS B 3; Carterton Whero 17, MIS A 7; St Matthew's A 30, Hadlow Pulse 15.
Grade two: Lakeview B 11, Solway 4; MIS Magic 10, St Matthew's B 9; Nga Kakano 9, Featherston Flyers 8.
Grade three: MIS Pulse 14, Chanel B 9; MIS Mystics 18, Lakeview C 4; Greytown A 10, Carterton Kahurangi 0; Tinui 25, St Matthew's C 3.
Grade four: DPS Pulse 13, St Pats Diamonds 3; Opaki Aces 25, MIS Steel 2; Greytown B 10, MIS Tactix 5; p Kahutara 1 36, Lakeview Pulse 7.
Grade 4A: MPS Sting 24, Carterton Kowhai 4; Lakeview Flames 18, Solway Diamomnds 14; Hadlow Steel 13, Wainuioru Wildcats 12; Martinborough Ferns 11, Gladstone Gladiators 2.
Grade 5: Opaki Stars 13, Rangitea 5; Greytown C 7, DPS Magic 6; St Pats Hearts 9, Kahutara 2 5.
Grade six: Fernridge Ferns 10, St Pats Clubs 10; Lakeview Magic 25, Hadlow Ferns 0. Grade seven: Opaki Jets 7, DPS Tactix 5; Greytown D 13, Gladstone Gems 1.
Future Ferns: Lakeview 8, Solway Sapphires 1; St Pats Shamrocks 4, DPS Steel 1; Greytown 10, Fernridge 1.