Pelorus pull off netball ‘three-peat’

From day one of the 2025 premier netball season Pelorus Edridge Contracting have worn the favourites tag.

Today, under the Stadium 2000 roof, they justified that lofty position, winning an intriguing final against Harlequins Totalspan 46-41.

But it was far from plain sailing for the side which had taken out the two previous premierships.

Many suggested the final would be one-way traffic, after all, their two previous meetings had been decided by 20-goal margins, but nothing could have been wider of the mark, Pelorus forced to dig very deep to ultimately pull away from a tenacious opponent.

After three quarters just a single goal separated the sides, the result very much in the balance. However, as their record suggests, Pelorus know how to close out big games and they lifted their intensity, especially on defence, in the final 15 minutes, winning a series of big moments which allowed them some scoreboard relief in the final stages.

Harlequins took the game to the defending champs from the outset. Sparked by sterling defensive work from Jack Frew, Delyth James-Sitters and Kendall Hughes, they disrupted the usually-reliable flow of ball into key shooter Paige Lovell, throwing the Dark Blues’ off their stride.

At the other end, athletic GS Wiri Bristowe took advantage of an imbalance of possession, and some superb feeding by the ever-reliable trio of Bridget Gane, Celine Barnes and Lauren Murray, to sink 13 from 14 attempts, pushing Quins out to a handy 14-9 lead at the first break.

Pelorus needed a spark to get back into proceedings and Courtney Taufa provided it, her efforts helping their side level the scores at 17-17 midway through the spell. Centre Kelsie Fitzpatrick and the fleet-footed Stormy Tupara were also instrumental in the turnaround as Quins accuracy dropped ever so slightly.

However, Quins finished the first half hour with a couple of timely turnovers to take a 24-22 lead into the break, showing the fight that would serve them well in the decider.

The third quarter was a tight affair as defence began to dominate, just 17 goals being scored overall. With circle defenders Oriana Houra and Jordy Peipi beginning to feature more prominently, along with WD Britney Lyons, Quins found it harder to find the prolific Bristowe, who was restricted to just seven shots in the quarter.

At the other end, Lovell was beginning to find more space in the circle, pushing Pelorus ahead for the first time after eight minutes, and into a one-goal lead after three quarters of an hour.

So, it came down to the final 15 minutes and Pelorus began strongest, scoring 11 goals to their rivals’ four, allowing them to relax into their smooth passing game and, although Harlequins continued to fight, finishing with a 6-3 scoring run, the margin had become too wide to bridge.

Their victory in the decider completes a top season for Pelorus, a season in which they lost only twice, once to the local Men’s Invitation side in a non-competition match and once in Nelson.

Co-captain Paige Lovell was thrilled to complete the “three-peat” and said her side had expected Harlequins to take the game to them in the manner they did.

“Everyone in our team was nervous before the game, we knew they were going to bring it to us and we knew we would have to fight all the way, but we did it.

“We have all got a lot of finals experience now, I think there was only one of us who hadn’t played in a premier final before … we are an awesome group of girls and we know we have got each other’s backs. We get around with each other away from netball, we never get angry with each other and have such a great connection … that is what has taken us so far.”

Reflecting on the season overall, Paige said, “we have played some good netball, we have played some pretty average netball. Going to Nelson was good for us because that kind of reset us and we came back and finished the season off.”

She made special mention of coach Tash Cook, who had stepped in when the side had no coach at the start of the season, and Courtney Taufa, who had returned after five seasons and made a big difference.

Premier final scores: Pelorus Edridge Contracting 46 (Paige Lovell 40/49, Courtney Taufa 6/13) Harlequins Totalspan 41 (Wiri Bristowe 36/47, Lauren Murray 5/12). Quarter scores (winning team first): 9-14, 13-10, 10-7, 14-10.

Other final results:

Grade one: Awatere 42 MGC McKendry Ford 31

Grade two: Wairau 30 MGC Ayson 29

Grade three: United 25 HQ WK+ 19

Grade six: QCC senior B 11 Pelorus Liquid Action 10

Social: Flaxbourne 22 Pelorus MTF 18