Paul fears common theme

Bay of Plenty gold captain Tamaku Paul fears a common theme has emerged from her side's Scottwood Trust National Netball Championship campaign.

"We are not finishing off.

"We are not capitalising on the ball our defence is getting," Paul explained.

The 32-year-old Ruatoki-based captain was left ruing lost opportunities after her team went down 51-40 to a strong Canterbury outfit in Palmerston North, last night.

The euphoria of their morning win over Eastern (48-38) having quickly turned to despair.

After keeping in touch with South Islanders until nearly 10 minutes from time, the Bay team faded away succumbing to the incessant pressure applied by Canterbury - a team mirroring the core of the National Bank Cup's Flames team including goal attack Jade Topia.

Paul said, "There were a few lost opportunities. It was there for the taking and we just couldn't finish off."

It was sentiments echoed by gold co-coach Debbie Fuller.

"It was just the finishing off that we struggled with. It was an experience thing.

"That Canterbury team has played together for the best part of four years. They have had the luxury of having an intimate knowledge of each other."

A failure to capitalise on valuable turnover ball from their workhorse defensive unit was what Paul attributed to the loss, as well as a lack of speedy linkages through the midcourt.

"The ball is getting there [from the defensive third to the shooting third], but probably not as quick or as free as we would like it."

While inconsistency has become an unwelcomed hallmark for the Bay side, Paul and her team remain upbeat.

"The girls are definitely disappointed, but still not down in the dumps."

Bay of Plenty gold will take on Counties-Manukau this evening - Paul believes they have the goods to take the match.

Their collective belief strengthened after successfully defeating Counties in a pre-nationals tournament earlier this month.

"We are definitely going for a repeat performance," Paul said with conviction.

During her tenure as regional captain, Paul has been trying to promote the need "to do your own job" to her players. "I am enjoying it. Enjoying the girls. Loving the game."

Meanwhile, Bay of Plenty Blue has steadily continued to build throughout the tournament, after a seemingly shaky start.

Assistant coach Kerry Heitia said, "We have come from our first game through to now, where we have had lots of improvements."

While they weren't able to topple yesterday's opponents, North - the defending second division winners - they were only beaten by nine goals; a marked improvement considering the blues were beaten by a staggering 36 goals, four weeks ago.

Today, the blues take on the winless Manawatu side - a game Heitia explained, "We are looking to absolutely dominate them."

* Standings:

First grade, top six: North 16 points Auckland Waitakere 16, Otago 9, Southland 6, Waikato 5, Western 2.

First grade, bottom six: Wellington 16, Canterbury 16, Bay of Plenty 8, Tasman 4, Eastern 4, Counties 1.