Netball: Hamilton City team wins Annie Brown cup at NZ Police Open Champs

The Hamilton City Open Representative team consisted of players from the Kirk Roberts Consulting Indoor Premier competition. Photo / Supplied

After a break of seven years, the Netball NZ Open Champs presented by NZ Police are back and the Hamilton team celebrated a small success: They came second and received the Annie Brown Cup.

The event was held at Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North from Tuesday, September 6 until Saturday, September 10. Twenty teams from across New Zealand entered. This event was last run in 2015.

It promised to be four days of quality netball, showcasing some of the best open teams from Netball Centres around the country. Netball NZ domestic events are a critical step on the high-performance pathway, and a breeding ground for future representatives for the Synergy Hair Netball League and the ANZ Premiership.

For days 1, 2 and part of day 3 there was pool play with four pools of five teams and then for the remainder of day 3 and 4 there was post-pool play for top eight, middle eight and bottom 4 teams with finals on the last day. Games were all 4 x 12-minute quarters.

The Hamilton City Open Representative team consisted of players from the Kirk Roberts Consulting Indoor Premier competition and included Ali Wilshier, Charlotte Pyke, Courtney Elliot, Georgia Bodle, Georgia Tong, Georgie Edgecumbe, Hannah Riddle-Pelchen, Hannah Ridling, Jade Kawhe, Kate Taylor, Monica Falkner and Ngawai Hawera and the coaches were Aroha Crombie and Rebecca Gabel.

Hamilton City was in pool C along with North Harbour, Hutt Valley, Taranaki and Cambridge. On day 1 they won against Cambridge but had a one-goal loss to Taranaki that they got a bonus point for. On day 2 they won against Hutt Valley but on day 3 they lost to North Harbour but did do enough to get into top 8. They beat Auckland and Counties Manukau Cluster on day 4.

They again met North Harbour in the final on Saturday and it was a real nail-biter with the final score 35 - 34. As runners-up they were given the Annie Brown Cup. Hamilton were runners-up in 2013.

This event is a great opportunity for up-and-coming netballers – it is also an acknowledgement to the team behind the team – the coaches, managers, support staff, umpires, statisticians, and bench officials who each make a significant contribution to the game.

Congratulations to Ann Scott from Hamilton City Netball Centre who was appointed to be a bench official for the finals.