Premier netball underway

The first round of Marlborough premier netball produced three contrasting encounters at Marlborough Lines Stadium tonight.

While there was plenty of rust on show, understandable at such an early stage of the season, there was no shortage of endeavour and potential.

The evening’s first match was a scrappy encounter, Marlborough Girls’ College eventually accounting for Harlequins Grove Tavern 30-22, the low score an indication of the mostly disjointed play on show from both sides.

There were moments of cohesion though, offering hope of more to come, with MGC players Jah’Bree MacDonald, Sophia Saggers, Violet Speakman and Tilly Tupouto’a catching the eye on opening night.

For the Quins side, Sara Follows, Aston Underwood, Hayley Jopson and player/coach Wiri Bristowe were impressive.

The evening’s second clash involved two sides favoured to be around when the whips start cracking at finals time - reigning champs Pelorus and Tokomaru.

In the end, Pelorus ran away with the match 67-26 as the champion combination clocked into gear almost from the first whistle and kept the pressure on throughout. Toko fought back in the third quarter but were no match for the Dark Blues, who welcomed back Courtney Taufa at the attacking end. Paige Lovell continued her high percentage shooting from the previous season while circle defenders Oriana Houra, Ella Smith and Izzy Tupouto’a combined well.

Leading the way for Toko were player/coach Teish O’Connell, Kayla Wilson and midcourter Rebecca Mark.

The final match saw the other Harlequins side come up against a Marlborough Men’s combination.

The Men will play all season for no points, fronting up with a team to ensure there is not a bye each week.

They showed they will be very competitive, pushing Quins all the way before running out of steam in the final quarter, losing 51-40 after trailing by just four at the three-quarter mark.

Among their best were the reliable shooting combination of Luke Richardson and Shiloh Walsh, while Nick Rayner, Sam Pearson and Jacob Collins helped produce a free-flowing high-speed encounter.

Quins are a relatively new-look side. Players such as Zara Jopson and Jorja Bacchus, who produced the best scoring percentage of the evening, have come in from the other Quins’ team, while Mickayla Avant returns and Delyth James-Sitters arrives from the MGC production line.

Scores:

Marlborough Girls’ College Liquid Action 30 (Jaye Wiapo 10/17, Anna Hurren 14/24, Sophia Nicholas 6/14) Harlequins Grove Tavern 22 (Tegan Bayley 9/16, Monja Oberholzer 6/15, Wiri Bristowe 7/12). Quarter scores (winning team first): 6-4, 7-3, 7-9, 10-6.

Harlequins Totalspan 51 (Celine Barnes 10/18, Lauren Murray 11/18, Jorja Bacchus 30/35) Marlborough Men 40 (Luke Richardson 27/33, Shiloh Walsh 13/22). Quarter scores (winning team first): 11-8, 13-10, 11-13, 16-9.

Pelorus Edridge Contracting 67 (Paige Lovell 49/60, Courtney Taufa 12/19, Laura Evans 6/10) Tokomaru 26 (Jade Shallcrass 7/11, Kayla Wilson 15/21, Ramona Waikato 4/10). Quarter scores (winning team first): 17-5, 19-6, 12-7, 19-8.