Netball Wanganui were looking to take positives out of finding their feet at the top level after being beaten by Dunedin 73-41 at the Lion Foundation National Championships in Wellington yesterday morning.
In Wanganui's first national championship game in 15 years, coach Lisa Murphy said they started with their strongestline-up and stayed within a 20-point deficit for most of the match.
"There was just a few bad passes and they counter-attacked on that."
Murphy made changes in the second half and was happy with how that line-up performed, being likely to retain those positions for the next game with Hutt Valley yesterday at 6pm.
Hayley Addenbrooke was moved from wing attack to centre for the third quarter and was the most consistent player, getting some good balls fed into shooter Sammy Murphy.
Down 17-8 at quarter-time, the scoreline progressed to 37-19 by halftime and then 55-29 heading into the final quarter, where Dunedin got away in the last five minutes.
While they wanted to put their best effort forward, Murphy said the opening match was not one they had targeted for victory.
They were hoping for better success against Hutt Valley last night, before their games today against North Harbour at 9am and Hawke's Bay at 6pm.
