The Nelson Netball 2013 season got underway at Saxton courts in perfect weather conditions. Players were keen to get the first game under their belts and begin to acclimatise themselves with the outdoor surface.
Competition was tight in Grade 3 and a blanket could practically be thrown over the six teams in the season’s opener. Prices Pharmacy White accounted for Jacks Navy 27-24, while Jacks Ale House drew 20 all with Motueka High School.
The third game of the grade was a relatively close encounter between Stoke Accessman and Waimea College 10A.
Stoke Accessman’s attack settled early while the mid court zone they played appeared to faze their younger opponents. Deanna Hunter and Georgia Wright combined nicely in Stoke’s shooting circle, where they received an abundance of pressure free ball from their feeders. The blue team went into the first break with a 9-6 advantage, which could have been considerably higher if they had converted more of their nine turnovers.
Stoke’s zone defence created more tip and turnover ball in the second quarter. Wing defence, Tanya Popata did a power of work on the outside of the circle, which enabled her circle defenders Lanessa White and Jess Hildyard to pick up the intercept ball.
While Stoke looked as if they had the game under control with a 16-10 lead at the major break, changes by Waimea College soon paid dividends. Libby Wehner vacated the WD bib to take up centre where she soon stamped her authority, while Ellie Gaging was calm under pressure at goal attack she netted some beautiful shots to win the quarter 8-6. Megan Stack made an impact off the bench when she made a useful contribution at wing defence. Georgia Roden came in for praise from her coaches with her improvement in training and her second half performance at goal keep.
Stoke’s wing attack, Jaime Kingi had the majority of centre pass receives against her name and delivered quality ball to her shooters, hitting the circle edge for the optimum feed. Jess Hildyard, displayed great vision, reading the play well she picked up four well timed intercepts, while Lanessa White rebounded strongly to put in a commendable performance.
The honours were shared in the final stanza with five apiece, however Stoke had done enough to claim the 27-23 win.
