College netballers pushed
It was a tough outing for Tawa College in Kapi Mana premier netball on Saturday, but a semifinal spot is well within reach.
The college side have a two-win, two-loss record after four matches and are third.
Runaway leaders Norths 1 and KBJ 1 will be difficult to catch, but Tawa coach Hayleymay Taru said the experience her players were gaining was invaluable.
Tawa were competitive for long periods against KBJ 1 on Saturday, but their errors and the experience of the league leaders told, and they copped a 65- 28 pasting.
‘‘We held our own at the defensive end and had opportunities on attack, but we didn’t finish them off,’’ Taru said. ‘‘You can’t make mistakes against KBJ.’’
Her team is newly promoted and she said they would more than hold their own in the top grade.
In Norths 1 and KBJ 1, Tawa College are facing players who have ruled the Mungavin courts for years.
‘‘Most of the [Tawa] girls are year 13, but there are year 11 and 12s there, so it’s great for their development and netball at the college.
‘‘They are finding it a challenge in premier 1 and need to get used to muscling up a bit, because it can be tough out there.
‘‘We want to unleash some of that potential. Top three is realistic for us this season.’’
Briana Reese and Olivia Booth were team leaders on court, and at training there were a lot of players trying new positions, she said.
In other premier 1 matches, Aotea Red pipped Kahurangi 51-50, KBJ 2 thrashed ParemataPlimmerton 64-29, and Norths 1 were too strong for Rockz 1, 51-24.
In Central League football on Saturday, Tawa were taken apart 7-0 by Miramar Rangers at David Farrington Park.
The visitors were starved of possession as Rangers put on a onetouch masterclass.
It was a case of deja vu at Endeavour Park, where Western Suburbs faced Petone, a week after their Chatham Cup clash.
The scoreline in the Cup was 1-0 to Wests; this time they went one better to record a 2-0 win after goals to Harry Edge and Greg Rosenthal.
The win pushed Wests up to sixth, two points off Napier City Rovers in third. Tawa stay eighth.
Porirua Vikings recorded a nailbiting 38-36 victory over University at the Bernie Wood Turf in Wellington premier club rugby league on Saturday. Both sides scored seven tries and the Hunters had a chance to salvage a draw with a conversion on fulltime, but it sailed wide.
St George, meanwhile, were thumped 48-16 by Wainuiomata at Cannons Creek Park. The Vikings are fifth, on the same number of points as Wainuiomata and University, and St George remain seventh.
In Swindale Shield rugby action, Tawa lost at Lyndhurst Park for the first time since June 2012, with a 31-27 defeat to Petone. It was also their first loss anywhere since last July.
However, Marist St Pat’s also lost, so Tawa maintain their fivepoint buffer at the top of the table with two rounds left.
Northern United also came up short, losing 33-31 to Hutt Old Boys Marist at Hutt Rec. They remain ninth.
Paremata-Plimmerton’s hopes of a Hardham Cup spot plunged when they lost 17-13 to Upper Hutt at Ngatitoa Domain in Senior 1 action. They are now fifth on 26 points. Fullback Ryan Mclean played his 200th game for Pare-Plim.
In the women’s premier grade, Northern United beat Tawa 84-0 at Onepoto Park.