Kaierau win premier one

TEAM HUG: Kaierau goal shoot Suzanne Guilford wraps her arms around team mates wing attack Clare Lynch, Rachael Lynch (obscured) and Jackie Abraham (rear) while WHS goal keep Kahurangi Sturmey ponders what might have been after Monday night's netball grand final.PHOTO/STUARTT MUNRO 100915WCSMFINAL1

NETBALL is a game of four quarters, but it became a game of two halves in Monday night's Premier One Championship grand final. Defending champions Phillips Electrical Wanganui High School met Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau, with the latter emerging the deserved victors.

Kaierau led 25-12 at the half-time break while WHS took the second half 25-18. But the damage was done in the first quarter and WHS were forced to play catch up netball for the remainder of the game which they did so valiantly, particularly when their subs came off the bench at half-time.

Kaierau coach Marama Cameron was very happy with her team's performance.

"We knew how we needed to play against WHS. It was a really good game and I really enjoyed it." When pressed for a name, Cameron was hesitant but highlighted the steady performance and presence of her centre and captain Rachael Lynch.

"She played her role to perfection."

Steady in the goal circle as well was goal shoot Suzanne Guilford who has proven all season that if you get her the ball, she will put it through the hoop, netting 22 from 25 in the first half. She was superbly supported by experienced campaigner and crafty goal attack Jackie Abraham who tempted and baited the WHS defenders to attack the ball just enough to open up the space to Guilford.

Down the other end, it was no small feat to restrict WHS goal shoot Sam Murphy to just three attempts at goal in the first quarter but that's exactly what goal defence Te Reo Paki and goal keep Kelera Kuruyabaki did, creating hesitancy and a high error rate from the WHS side. Goal attack Renee Butler worked the top of the circle in an attempt to draw a defender off her captain but Kaierau were unyielding in the knowledge that there was no threat of Butler going to the hoop and they all but nullified Murphy's presence.

The tide began to change when WHS coach Lisa Murphy rang in the changes at half-time. Tuupuhi Karaitiana came on to wing defence, Niamh Flower to goal attack and Diana Taha Williams-Cribb to wing attack. Kerwyn Morgan moved to centre and Kahurangi Sturmey to goal keep. It took a few minutes for the new combination to settle while Kaierau stretched their lead to 17 but the WHS side found their rhythm, keeping pace for the remainder of the quarter and stringing together a nice five-goal run at the end to pull the deficit back to 11 going into the final quarter.

Coach Murphy was very proud of her team, her subs coming off the bench and the support from the side. It wasn't the start she would have liked and they took too long to adjust.

"They shut down Sammy. That was obviously their game plan tonight to take her right out of the game completely and they did. To adapt to that for us was quite hard. Took us a while until we actually got that right and I don't think that really came right until the third quarter."

And it was the strong connection on attack between Flower and Taha Williams-Cribb that detracted the Kaierau defenders full attention from Murphy and saw her open up and go on to shoot 100 per cent in the third quarter with her attempts at goal equalling the total attempts in the first and second combined. WHS went on to have 11 more attempts at goal in the fourth quarter while restricting Kaierau's Guilford to 5 from 7 attempts.

But it wasn't enough as Kaierau fended off an enthusiastic comeback that had the crowd cheering from the stands to win 43-37 and take the honours of 2015 premier one champions.

In the earlier matches, Mint Cafe Marist A1 took an emphatic win over EC Sports 54-49 to finish third, while Cullinane College put in a comprehensive performance over Wanganui Collegiate to win the Plate Final (5th/6th).