Carterton Reds goal shoot Summer Priest gets a pass away. PHOTOS/JADE CVETKOV
NETBALL
CHRIS COGDALE
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Celtic and Wairarapa College are the only unbeaten teams after the second round of the Wairarapa Premier One championship.
Celtic showed their class with a 57-40 win over Gladstone Heat, Waicol overcame a determined Carterton Legends 38-35, Carterton Red got their first victory holding off a strong challenge from Greytown Holmes Construction 34-29, and defending champions Harcourts were far too good for St Matthew’s A, winning 60-32.
Last year’s beaten finalists Carterton Red had to work hard for their victory over Greytown, and coach Trudy Hullena was relieved to bag the three points.
“Kudos to Greytown. They gave us a real fright. They’re tall, rangy and physical and bring a load of experience from over the hill.”
Hullena attributed the victory to strong defence.
Our defence throughout the court was very good, and we stopped a lot of ball getting into Kate Jurling [Greytown GS], who was hard to stop when she got the ball.
“Our shooting stats were terrible, about 80 per cent. We shot 20 more shots that the last game but just weren’t accurate enough. I feel very lucky to get the win.”
Waicol coach Melissa Cullen said her team’s three-goal win over an experienced Legends’ side would give the girls the confidence that they can match it with the other Premier One teams.
“It was a good grounding for the girls. There were a lot of positives and it showed that we can do it when we need to.”
The match was even throughout with Waicol holding a narrow lead. Going into the final quarter, the pupils held a five-point advantage, but they had to withstand a strong comeback from Legends.
“It was never really ours and we struggled in the cold and wet, but the girls hung in there and got the job done,” Cullen said.
“Legends slowed the game down, which they’re really good at doing, and our defence did a great job to keep them out.”
Cullen is enthused about the prospects for her young side.
“We got everyone on court and that was good to put combos together. We’re growing and getting there, but it’s only one game and it will be interesting to see how it goes with eight teams in the competition.”
Waicol goal defence Camryn Potangaroa had an outstanding game on defence and was instrumental in setting up many attacking plays.
Tahlia Reiri-Terito, who is in her first year at Premier One level, showed she is not out of her depth with a brilliant game at centre, while goal attack Georgia Cullen had a busy game and shot well.
Round 2 scores
Celtic 57 Gladstone Heat 40, Harcourts 60 St Matthew’s A 32, Carterton Red 34 Greytown Holmes Construction 29, Wairarapa College A 38 Carterton Legends 35.
Standings
Wairarapa College A 6, Celtic 6, Greytown Holmes Construction 4, Carterton Red 4, Harcourts 4, Carterton Legends 4, St Matthew’s A 1; Gladstone Heat 0.
