Netball: Exciting tussle sees Castle Rangers denied a win by gutsy HGHS Langman

Rachel MacKenzie playing for Waikato Diocesan Girls Open A. Photo / Supplied

This week again saw the teams play without any spectators under Covid-19 alert level 2 restrictions.

This is the fifth and final week of the second round of the premier indoor netball competition and there was one close game and a draw leading into finals.

It was a great tussle between Hamilton Girls High School Langman Premier and Nottingham Castle Rangers. HGHS Langman started with a bang to lead by 13 goals to 8 at the end of the first quarter.

By halftime Castle Rangers had reduced most of the gap with the score 21 goals to 19.

Castle Rangers were again strong in the third quarter to take the lead for the first time in the game with the score 28 goals to 30.

HGHS Langman showed guts and determination in the final quarter to cause a draw. The final score was 38 goals apiece.

Georgie Edgecombe on court for University of Waikato Premier. Photo / Supplied

HGHS Langman played a great team game. They started beautifully with some outstanding feeding into the shooters.

Arikinoa Shortland at goal shoot had a solid game with some great positioning and accurate shooting. The second half, however, belonged to the defence end.

Applying through court defensive pressure along with some great gains by circle defence pairing of Veisinia Fakalelu and Liza Ball saw the lead swing back with only two minutes to play.

All credit to the opposition to turn over ball and convert, followed by a goal from their centre pass which resulted in an exciting draw. HGHS can take pride in securing their place in the top four teams in the premier competition for the first time.

For Castle Rangers it was not the result that they wanted, more from a momentum perspective than anything else.

The team had an uncharacteristically bad start that effectively cost them the game. The team did work themselves back into the game by halftime and they got plenty of turnover ball but were not always able to convert enough of it and just managed to snatch the draw.

All credit to HGHS Langman for the pressure they put on and on the night they were the better team.

University of Waikato Premier Reserve vs Morrinsville Open A

The other close game was that between University of Waikato Premier Reserve and Morrinsville Open A and the result gave Morrinsville Open A their first win in the premier competition.

The first quarter was goal for goal with nothing in it and at the end of the first quarter University Premier Reserve led by 10 goals to 9.

The second quarter was the same, but Morrinsville were able to win this quarter and edge ahead with the score being 18 goals to 19. Morrinsville were dominant in the third quarter and the score was 23 goals to 30.

The final quarter saw University Premier Reserve try to come back but it was not enough, with the Morrinsville school team taking the win.

The final score was 32 goals to 36. A well deserved win to the school team.

For Morrinsville being the new team in the competition they have focused on developing combinations and on building an entire team unit.

This has finally started to come together in recent games with the performance against University Premier Reserve their best performance to date. It was a bonus to take the win from it.

Given the team effort it is hard to single out any player. Shooters Maddison Fowler at goal attack and Kayla Vettie at goal shoot finished off accurately the hard work from the rest of the team to get the ball to them.

Circle feeders Alesha McQuoid at wing attack and Alicia Craig at centre showed great skill with well-placed ball to the shooters and the circle defence unit was once again tight with Jade Ansley at goal keep relentless in disrupting the opposition shooters. A great achievement for the team.

Other games

FTNC Premier and Verdettes Marist Old Girls had a great game. FTNC Premier started strongly to lead by 8 goals at the end of the first quarter and as per their habit Marist Old Girls were a bit sluggish.

However, in the second quarter it was almost goal for goal with the halftime score being 22 goals to 14.

The third quarter was also a draw and then again in the final quarter FTNC Premier were able to pull ahead and won the game by 41 goals to 30. A good performance by them and another example of Marist Old Girls playing catch up netball.

Jade Poi in action for for FTNC Premier. Photo / Supplied

In the final game of the top six teams, St Peters Premier were not quite good enough to beat University of Waikato Premier.

The first quarter was close and goal for goal with University Premier having a narrow one goal lead but by halftime they held a dominant lead of 23 goals to 15.

The third quarter was again goal for goal and then in the final quarter the University Premier again won this to take the win 44 goals to 31. Overall a great competitive game.

In the bottom six teams, Allied HOB Premier continued their winning streak with a win over Iwi Karearea Premier. Allied HOB Premier won the first quarter to lead by six goals, but Iwi Premier won the second quarter to reduce the gap to just two goals.

The halftime score was 20 goals to 18. Allied HOB Premier were then strong in both the third and final quarters and increased their lead in the second half. The final score was 48 goals to 37.

In the final game FTNC Premier Reserve were confident and strong in their game against Waikato Diocesan Open A. They led from start to finish winning every quarter so will be happy with their performance.

The halftime score was 22 goals to 14 and the fulltime score was 49 goals to 26. Waikato Diocesan Open A will be disappointed this week with a lack of consistent performance across the four quarters especially coming into finals.

That concludes the second round robin and the competition goes into a two-week finals format. The teams at the end of the round robin are ranked:

Top six teams - FTNC Premier, Nottingham Castle Rangers, University of Waikato Premier, HGHS Langman, Verdettes Marist Old Girls and St Peters Premier.

Bottom six teams – Allied HOB Premier, FTNC Premier Reserve, Iwi Karearea Premier, University of Waikato Premier Reserve, Waikato Diocesan Open A, and Morrinsville Open A.

Here's hoping we are at level 1 for the finals in two weeks time.

Indoor Premier Results

• Allied HOB Premier 48 vs Iwi Karearea Premier 37
• FTNC Premier Reserve 49 vs Waikato Diocesan Open A 26
• FTNC Premier 41 vs Verdettes Marist Old Girls 30
• St Peters Premier 31 vs University of Waikato Premier 44
• University of Waikato Premier Reserve 32 vs Morrinsville Open A 36
• Hamilton Girls High School Langman Premier 38 vs Nottingham Castle Rangers 38