Netball: Price of commuting pays Waikato bonus

By Suzanne McFadden

The thousands of kilometres which Waikato netballer Leigh Price has driven between Auckland and Hamilton this year have finally paid off.

Waikato's storming victory in the national netball championships on Saturday night made every drop of petrol worth it.

Deceptive goal-keep Price moved north to Auckland this year for her job as a market analyst with Carter Holt Harvey.

Yet she remained loyal to her Waikato team and made the trip back home each week for training. In the last couple of months she hitched a ride with her defence partner Koren Pickard and shooter Tania Nicholson.

"It's been a decent-sized commitment. But they're a great bunch of chicks, so it was worth it," she said yesterday.

Price stood out like a beacon in Waikato's 62-37 humiliation of Auckland in Palmerston North.

She grabbed a chain of intercepts which furthered her reputation as one of the best defenders at the tournament.

"Everyone in the team could pat themselves on the back for their defensive efforts - I just picked the ball up at the end," she said.

Waikato captain Jenny-May Coffin said it was the first year she had seen Price settled.

"She is usually so nervous, and caught up in the emotion of it all. But she was so calm this time," she said.

Price, on the other hand, said she was so tense she forgot what to do in the warm-up.

Coffin praised Price and Pickard for overcoming their lack of height in the circle to be the most effective defensive team at the championships.

"They were feisty and agile, and got in everybody's face at the right time," she said.

They forced Auckland's shooters to rotate like a revolving door, and generally denied the Aucklanders a feel of the ball.

But across the floor, Waikato were a team with very few faults and it was no surprise that they went through the week unbeaten.

Coffin and Amigene Rangitaawa proved that they are among the top midcourters in the country despite being overlooked for the Silver Ferns.

Waikato were in control from the first whistle, up by eight at the first break, and doubled that by halftime.

Nicky Read gave the effort of two in trying to keep Auckland in the game, but it was a futile attempt in a line-up who sagged in the middle.

A whitewash was not the ideal way to round off these championships, already criticised for their unorthodox format.

Without the Silver Ferns playing, North Harbour were the big losers, dropping down into second grade next year after losing their playoff to Wellington.

Canterbury deservedly won promotion back into top grade and would probably have made competitive opponents for Waikato in the grand final.