Netball: Canterbury retain national title

10.00pm

Canterbury successfully defended their national netball title when they strolled to a 50-36 win over Otago in the final here tonight.

Underdogs Otago showed brief flashes of resilience but limited experience in key areas denied them the ability to consistently put Canterbury under threat.

Canterbury pocketed the New Zealand Cup for the 27th time in a final which failed to reach any significant heights at the end of a week of intense netball.

Canterbury asserted their superior player-power in the third quarter as they stretched their buffer while continuing to put Otago shooters under the hammer.

Otago goalshoot Katie Ritchie endured a tough examination from imposing Canterbury opposite Vilimaina Davu, who left her mark on the match with a bevy of tips and intercepts.

Canterbury welcomed back Silver Ferns captain Julie Seymour for the final. The centre had been out of action since sustaining an ankle injury in the first match of round-robin play against Otago last Monday.

Seymour had stints at centre and wing defence, making a significant impact in the latter position in the second half.

Missed shots throughout the match didn't help Otago, with the increased tightening of the defensive screws in their shooting circle leaving fewer options as the match wore on.

Canterbury pretty much had the title tucked away at three-quarter time when they led 40-25, their overall experience proving too much as they maintained their dominance over the final 15 minutes.

The Silver Ferns-stacked Canterbury side failed to find any early flow, their slick international attack line of Seymour, Anna Rowberry and Belinda Colling disrupted by a barrage of penalties in the opening stanza.

Surprise finalists Otago, who made their path to the last two via the back door when Wellington upset Waikato in the final round- robin match yesterday, made the more assured start.

Veteran captain Janine Brown was the steadying influence behind Otago's attack line which included former Silver Ferns Adine Harper and Angela Evans.

Shooters Ritchie and Evans received a steady supply of possession, allowing Otago to nudge ahead 11-10 at the first break.

Davu and Anna Veronese gave Otago plenty of cause for concern as the shooting duo went through some wobbly patches.

The inconsistencies increased during the second spell as the experience of Canterbury continued to grind down Otago's challenge.

Davu and Veronese proved a constant threat while Colling and Jodi Te Huna found their mark more regularly in the Canterbury shooting circle.

The crafty Colling also exposed deficiencies in the young Otago defensive pairing of Anna Scarlett and Stephanie Bond as Canterbury took a 24-18 lead into halftime and a degree of control over the match.

Canterbury captain Seymour was delighted to recover in time for tonight's final.

"It was great. I found it hard all week sitting on the sideline, so, yeah -- I loved being out there tonight," Seymour told NZPA.

"It probably wasn't the prettiest of games by any means but when you're expecting players to play day after day in a really hard competition you're not going to expect the best game at the end of the week.

"That's the nature sorting out a tournament that's going to give the best netball and the best everything."

Seymour said it had been good to get all squad members on court during the week.

"It's important to keep that team unity and team spirit going," she said.

Opposing skipper Brown said Canterbury had run Otago ragged tonight.

Waikato reversed yesterday's result to pip Wellington 58-56 for third place today while Southland accounted for Counties Manukau 63-51 in the match for fifth and sixth.

- NZPA