The Wairarapa under-15 development squad netball team completed their season on a high note at the Molly Dorne tournament in Levin on Sunday. The final game was against Wellington Gold with Wairarapa taking the honours 14-9 after leading 8-3 at halftime. It was an excellent performance against opposition to which Wairarapa hadlost by just the one goal at Palmerston North the previous weekend. Paige Drummond and Victoria Green were top value on defence for Wairarapa as was Ngapera Tipuna. Working tirelessly in midcourt were Alex Taia and Amy Pollock. Their accurate service helped shooters Natasha Hill and Tania Strange to keep the score ticking over with Strange having a 93 per cent success rate in that department. Wairarapa's opening match at the Levin tourney was against Hutt Valley and resulted in a 25-4 defeat and while they also lost their second game to Kapiti by 13-5 that was a major improvement on previous games with them, won by Kapiti by 28-5 and 16-2. Defender Sonya Gordon was a standout player in that match. A slow start cost Wairarapa dearly in their game with Hutt Valley development with the latter getting out to a good lead and winning 16-6. Against Manawatu,however, Wairarapa trailed by 7-2 at halftime but fought back well in the second spell to draw 10-10. Player of the tournament for Wairarapa was captain Victoria Green, who pulled of a number of interceptions and led by example.
