GOOD FEED: Cullinane mid-courter Tariana Turia provided excellent ball to her shooters during her side's narrow 40-37 loss to Kaierau on Monday night. PHOTOS/LEWIS GARDNER
ONE could have been forgiven for thinking we had been teleported to Auckland's Trusts Arena for the NZ Conference Finals, such was the intensity and excitement of the match-ups in Monday night's Wanganui Premier One netball competition.
Newcomers Ruapehu Sports Club clinched the lead and surged their way home against Kaiwhaiki to win 49-47. Tied 11-all at the first quarter break, what was most notable in this game was the considerable reduction of substitutions from both teams.
Kaiwhaiki's only change was a positional shift, with goal shoot Te Oranga Whanarere coming out to goal attack and Te Waimatao Potaka-Osborne moving to goal shoot. The change paid dividends and Kaiwhaiki nudged ahead to lead 22-20 at halftime.
Fresh legs for Ruapehu in the third quarter saw Lavenia Nauga on at goal attack and Chiquita Albert on at wing defence for Fleur Howell, but Kaiwhaiki had found their connections on attack with a great supply of ball to their shooters from Lee-arna Nepia at wing attack and Maewa Love at centre.
With some well-structured passages of play, Kaiwhaiki stretched their lead to six at the three-quarter break, 35-29. The fourth quarter saw Holly Deadman come on at goal keep to combine well with Nauga at goal defence and pick up a lot of loose ball.
With Annie Rolls coming on to goal attack, Loni Martin moving to wing attack, and with centre Kataraina Hakaraia firing, Ruapehu's attack end gelled easily.
Converting all but one of their centre passes in the final quarter and capitalising on seven of Kaiwhaiki's, the supply of ball to goal shoot Chaana Morgan doubled as she converted 13 from 16.
She was supported by Rolls shooting seven from eight, and worked the top of the circle strongly. Despite a late charge in the final minutes and 100 per cent shooting effort from Kaiwhaiki goal shoot Potaka-Osborne, Ruapehu won the quarter 20-12 and claimed their first win of the season.
In the other adrenaline-charged match-up of the evening, Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau and Cullinane College were deadlocked 12-all at the first break.
A stunning display of tenacity from both teams saw the game still drawn at the half-time break 27 apiece, neither side willing to give an inch. The introduction of Kelera Kuruyabaki to goal keep in the third quarter saw the supply of ball into the shooters restricted significantly for the first time during the game and Kaierau edged ahead 40-37.
It was a game that was difficult to fault for either team.
Statistically, Cullinane provided more ball to their shooters with 13 more attempts at goal than their counterparts, a testament to the great work from mid-courters Tariana Turia at centre and Ina Whanarere at wing attack. The welcomed return of defensive pairing of Lyric Pikimaui at goal defence and Brylee Lott at goal keep saw hard yards put in at the other end of the court where the pickings were slim against Kaierau's goal shoot Suezanne Guilford, shooting 49 of their 51 goals (91 per cent) for another solid performance.
When asked what had led to this stunning two-week turn-around, Cullinane coach Raven Steel was quick to identify the players as being key to their success.
On this occasion it went in favour of a determined Kaierau side who are only two weeks away from their finals re-match against reigning champs Phillips Electrical WHS A1 who in the final match of the night beat Mint Cafe Marist 50-39. Leading 12-9 at the first quarter break, WHS were well served by goal shoot Sammy Murphy shooting 11 from 11.
After they stretched it to nine at the halftime break, 25-16, Marist coach Sharon Kaua, decided to move goal shoot Mikayla Pihema-Taiaroa out to goal attack and push Sarah Teki-Clark back to goal shoot, a move that paid dividends for the side as they won the third quarter 12-10 to close the gap to seven at the three-quarter break.
Niamh Flower was brought on at goal attack in the final quarter and started strongly before going down with a foot injury. This saw the return of Renee Butler to goal attack and she and captain Murphy shot 100 per cent to finish the game.
In the earlier game of the night, EC Sports started strongly against Wanganui Collegiate to lead 14-5 at the first-quarter break and 30-14 at halftime.
It seems every week brings a new challenge for Collegiate who this week were without their goal shoot Kelly Teki-Clarke. Normally seen at goal keep, Lisa Lin took on the shooting role but the pressure of EC Sports defenders Terehia Gardiner and Alana Erceg meant Collegiate were starved of opportunity.
With Lin moving back to her traditional role of goal keep, the pressure she and goal defence Cheyann McDougall applied saw the EC Sports shooting accuracy halve and with McDougall strong at bringing the ball through court, Collegiate were able to draw the quarter 8-all though still trailing 22-38. The final quarter saw Tash Kingi return to wing attack and Karaihi Peina move to centre as EC Sports finished to win 54-29.