Premier netball report: champ week 3

Samantha Sinclair at centre for Suburbs Premier being defended by Alix Boe at centre for FTNC Premier. In the background is Hayley Stockman at goal attack and Shannon O'Donnell at wing defence. Photo / Judy Macdonald.

Tommo's Bakery Indoor Premier Championship Round Results - August 4
Uni Prem 90 vs St Paul's College Open A 22
New World Rototuna Suburbs Premier 53 vs FTNC Premier 41
First Credit Union Verdettes Marist 61 vs New World Suburbs Prem Res 37

In the third week of the Tommo's Bakery indoor open premier grade championship round New World Rototuna Suburbs Premier showed determination and full team commitment to turn the tables with a win over FTNC Premier noting that they lost to this team in the first round.

The first quarter was close with Suburbs Premier having a four goal lead, but by half time they had extended this to 11 goals.

They were again dominant during the third quarter but FTNC Premier won the final quarter. But this was all a little too late. The final score was 53 goals to 41.

For Suburbs Premier Kelly Jury at goal keep put on immense pressure and disrupted the normally high percentage shooters for the opposition. There was a huge mid court defensive effort by everyone and Simmon Howe at wing attack was strong on attack creating space and options.

The shooting circle remained balanced and patient and was led ably by Monica Falkner at goal shoot. For FTNC Premier they made too many errors meaning they were not as competitive as they would have liked and accept it was not their best performance.

Candyce Edwards at goal keep for most of the game strongly defended for the team working her way into the Suburb shooters heads and she picked up a number of rebounds and intercepts.

First Credit Union Verdettes Marist has a similar game against New World Suburbs Premier Reserve in that they won the first three quarters. Verdettes Marist had a strong 19-goal lead at half time and the final score was 61 goals to 37.

It was Suburbs Premier Reserve's first official game in the competition and they looked like they had come to play particularly later in the game.

For Suburbs Premier Reserve Colein Swift at goal shoot for most of the game commanded the shooting circle in the second half only missing four goals. She was given some good ball by Georgia Eldridge at wing attack and Mikayla Apiti at centre, both of whom are members of TWHCNC Under 19 representative team.

High school players Oceān Tahu-Middleton, Danielle Coffin and Tori Van Der Heyden also all got valuable court time to develop their skill base and to gain experience against a quality side.

For Verdettes Marist Chanel Dyer at wing attack and Taylor Kells at centre combined well to provide Jaz Hemington at goal shoot plenty of ball and she rewarded their efforts with some solid shooting particularly in the first half.

Uni Premier put on a ruthless and precise exhibition showing no mercy for the young and newly promoted St Paul's College Open A. In this game they led from start to finish winning each quarter comprehensively.

They led by 39 goals at half time and the final score was 90 goals to 22.

Uni Premier applied relentless pressure throughout the court and this resulted in a lot of turnover ball for them. For the St Paul's team the game was another building block for them and despite the score line and some of their frustration on court at times, they came off holding their heads high indicating the character and unity of the team.

For Uni Premier, coach Rebecca Gabel was particularly pleased with the consistent effort of her team across all four quarters and was once again able to put her entire team on the court. Leading into the last few weeks of the season this will prove to be valuable.

She also acknowledged the young talent in the St Paul's team who can only learn from these experiences.