By JULIE ASH
While Canterbury appear to be serious contenders for national honours, the chance of the title coming north took a step backwards yesterday when all three Auckland teams suffered defeats.
After leading in all three quarters, Canterbury went on to blitz Netball North 79-47.
Netball North coach Marcia Hardcastle said she
was impressed with the Canterbury side and expected to see them in the final alongside defending champions Waikato.
"Canterbury are not bad at all. They have heaps of speed through the court and I rate them alongside Waikato.
"We lost it in the first quarter, but it was the second quarter which really killed us."
Counties and Manukau put up a brave fight but went down to Otago 54-48 after trailing by 13 at halftime.
"We did ourselves too many indiscretions. but we have two games to go and I wouldn't count us out yet," coach Jan Lundon said.
Silver Fern Temepara George made a welcome return to the Counties and Manukau side in the second quarter after missing their first few games with a knee injury.
"Temepara is a real eager beaver, so it was a good boost for the team to have her back," Lundon said.
Counties and Manukau square off with local rivals Netball North today. Both coaches expect a close encounter.
"Counties and Manukau have got a smart team and they have got some height in their shooting circle with Monika Gabriel and Janine Topia," Hardcastle said. "This will be one of our big games for sure."
Auckland Waitakere suffered their third consecutive loss when they went down to Southland 78-40.
The game seemed nothing more than a glorified training run for Southland when they raced to a 45-15 lead at halftime.
Auckland Waitakere play Tasman this afternoon. The southerners lost 63-50 to Bay of Plenty yesterday.
Canterbury's win over Netball North follows victories over Otago and Eastern.
With at least six past or present Silver Ferns in their line-up, Canterbury lead the charge in pool B. They face Western Manawatu today.
Otago are second after wins over Netball North and Counties and Manakau.
To retain that spot they have to beat Eastern today and Western Manawatu tomorrow.
Pool A is not so clear cut, with Waikato, Wellington and Southland all vying for the top two positions.
In today's other first division matches, Southland face Wellington and Waikato play Bay of Plenty.
