Netball: Auckland Waitakere shooters run riot

Maria Tutaia

Maria Tutaia, who is tipped to fill the void left by Belinda Colling in the Silver Ferns, could be in for some competition from her Auckland Waitakere teammates.

Auckland Waitakere beat Tasman 76-34 in their opening match of the national provincial competition in New Plymouth last night.

While Tutaia, who was playing at goal attack, contributed 24 goals out of her 30 attempts, Paula Griffin, who played the first half at goal shoot, landed 30 from 34 and then Susan Tagicakibau, who came on in the second, landed an impressive 22 from 24.

Tasman had no answer for the powerful Auckland Waitakere side, which included not only Tutaia, but also former Fern Jenny-May Coffin and the lethal defensive combination of Stephanie Bond and Anna Scarlett.

The Aucklanders led 19-4 at the first quarter and although were guilty of too many wayward passes edged further and further ahead as the game progressed.

Auckland Waitakere coach Paula Bailey had few complaints but said she would like to see her team "tidy up and tighten up combinations".

"I think we threw away too much ball to be honest, we got a bit casual in parts in our pass delivery ... you can't let those things happen because when you meet someone like Waikato they will be unforgiving."

Seeded in Pool B, Auckland Waitakere have an easy start to the competition, facing Western today and Bay of Plenty tomorrow in New Plymouth.

They then have a week to prepare for their games against Southland and Waikato, who they will meet in the first few days of the week-long tournament in Auckland.

While it was hard to take too much from their opening hitout, Auckland Waitakere showed promise.

While their defence is always going to hold up with Scarlett and Bond and with Coffin directing the midcourt, a lot will come down to their shooters.

If Griffin and Tagicakibau continue to perform as they did yesterday, Auckland Waitakere could push the more fancied Waikato, Canterbury and North sides for a spot in the final.

Led by Silver Ferns captain Adine Wilson, Southland claimed a comfortable 77-33 win over Bay of Plenty. Southland led 19-7 at the first break.

Wilson went off at halftime and sat the rest of the match out with an ice pack on her knee.

Tanya Lund, who could find herself called into the Silver Ferns to replace Colling, started for the Bay at goal attack but was moved into wing attack in the second quarter, where she performed well.

The star was Donna Loffhagen, who netted 48 goals from 50 attempts.

Last year's finalists Waikato beat Western 61-42 after leading 33-20 at halftime.

In the Pool A matches in Christchurch, North beat Eastern 72-40, Otago beat Wellington 54-36 and Canterbury beat Counties Manukau 89-24.