Uni Premier netball champions for ninth consecutive time

Uni Premier scored a ninth consecutive win to retain the title of Premier netball champions. Photo / Supplied

Trust Waikato Hamilton City Netball Centre Indoor Premier Final Results.
Uni Premier 56 vs New World Rototuna Suburbs Premier 39.

Uni Premier and New World Rototuna Suburbs Premier met again in the final of the Trust Waikato Hamilton City Netball Centre indoor open premier grade. A win by Uni Premier would see them the winners of this competition for the ninth consecutive year. The final was also played at the new indoor venue at Rototuna and a large number of spectators were present and they were not disappointed.

After a very slow start last week New World Rototuna Suburbs Premier came out with fighting spirt, vigor and determination to see them leading by two goals at the end of the first quarter. The score was 11 goals to 9.

This added to the excitement and atmosphere as a total surprise as this is the one and only time this season that the Uni Premier team have been beaten in a quarter.

In the second and final quarters Uni Premier were dominant, fast and aggressive in their pursuit of a ninth consecutive win.
The only other close quarter was the third quarter with only four goals the difference. The half time score was 26 goals to 20 and the fulltime score 56 goals to 39.

This was a highly skilled, fast and energetic game and the court was littered with talented players from various competitions including ANZ Premiership Netball, Sun Corp Super Netball, Beko Netball League and U19's.

For Uni Premier the mid court were particularly impressive comprising of Laura Langman at centre, Ariana Cable-Dixon at wing defence and Sydney Fraser and Ngawai Eyles sharing the wing attack position.

This proved a slick and polished unit that brought the ball through the court at speed.

There was also some solid tight defence by Amy Christophers at goal keep and Rachael Fabling at goal defence.

The shooting end took a while to settle against a great defensive effort by Micaela Ashford at goal defence and Jenna O'Sullivan at goal keep for Suburbs Premier. Ashford and O'Sullivan were effective in getting both turnover ball and rebounds.

Emily Patterson at wing defence also assisted greatly with the defensive effort. Overall as a team Suburbs Premier performed well showing resilience in what can only be labelled as their best game of the season.

Sarah Hayman at goal shoot was strong and steady shooting at 88 per cent, the best on the night of all shooters.

The mid court combination led by Shannon O'Donnell as captain and at centre hunted the ball with some success and several times only narrowly missed an intercept.

They also worked hard on attack to bring the ball through the court. Both teams substituted one player each at half time but Suburbs Premier reverted to their starting seven for the final quarter.

So in the end it was congratulations to Uni Premier for a ninth consecutive win and retention of the title of Premier netball champions.

On the night however everyone acknowledged and applauded both teams for the manner in which the game was played and the score did not reflect the game seen on court. A spectacle to behold.