MGCnetballers clinch third spot
The semifinal picture became clearer after the latest round of Marlborough premier netball matches played on Saturday.
Four of the six premier sides were in action at Marlborough Lines Stadium, where Marlborough Girls’ College Scaffold Marlborough beat Pelorus 57-41 and SMOG Hamish Ryan Construction downed Tokomaru 50-35.
The upshot of Saturday’s results was that MGC are now confirmed as third-placed qualifiers for the semis, behind Harlequins Radich Law and SMOG Bayleys who play their final game on Saturday. The loser of that game will meet MGC in the play-offs.
Fourth place is still up for grabs with Tokomaru and SMOG HRC tied on three points and Pelorus sitting at the bottom of the table without a point. They play SMOG HRC at the stadium on Tuesday. If Pelorus win, the three sides will be tied on competition points, but if SMOG prevail they will become the fourth semifinalist.
Marlborough Girls’ College 57 Pelorus 41
While not a vintage effort from the MGC crew, who may have had their mind on the forthcoming South Island schools tournament, the students got the job done.
Despite being without the experienced duo of Jordan Peipi and Harriet Greenslade, MGC held a slight edge throughout. They forged a six goal lead in the first quarter, drew the second stanza 13-13, then won the second half 21-11 to put the issue beyond doubt.
Lofty defender Jalen King returned to the court and made a strong impression, teaming well with Etelini Manoa and Livvy Hodson at the defensive end.
Kelsie Fitzpatrick carried a big workload in midcourt while ace shooter Malia Manoa was a onestop scoring shop at the attacking end, putting up 56 of MGC’s 69 goal atempts, and landing 51.
Despite the steady flow of goals from Manoa, Pelorus goal keeper Danielle Moffat had an impressive game. She read play intelligently and pounced on any rebounds and loose ball around the circle. Fellow defender Brooke Horton also showed some good touches.
Anna Hewson, at goal shoot, produced a healthy percentage and worked hard to find space while centre Shona Cook, as usual, turned in a whole-hearted effort. SMOG HRC 50 Tokomaru 35 Shooting statistics can be misleading when read in the overall context of a game, but not this time. Both teams enjoyed an almost even share of possession, Toko putting up 66 goal attempts to SMOG’s 65. However, while the settled SMOG shooting combination of Rebecca Eddie and Donna Ryan landed 76 percent of their shots, Toko, who tried three different pairings in the attacking circle, dropped in just 53 percent.
Absent for Toko on Saturday was regular goal shoot Holly Bonnington, plus defender CodeyJay Te Wano-Ripo, while SMOG were without the versatile Sandy Marlborough Girls’ College 57 (Malia Manoa 51/56, Olivia Pinkeron 6/11, Ella Donald 0/2) Pelorus 41 (Anna Hewson 27/35, Louise Walker 14/23). Quarter scores (winning team first): 13-7, 13-13, 16-10, 15-11. SMOG Hamish Ryan Construction 50 (Rebecca Eddie 25/32, Donna Ryan 25/33) Tokomaru 35 (Tamara Acott 14/25, Hana Wilson 15/28, Paige Smith 2/4, Laura Murphy 4/9). Quarter scores (winning team first): 12-7, 11-9, 14-10, 13-9. Harlequins RL 12 (played 4), SMOG Bayleys 12 (played 4), MGC 9 (played 5), Tokomaru 3 (played 5), SMOG HRC 3 (played 4), Pelorus 0 (played 4). Large. There was no shortage of endeavour from Toko, Amy Cragg, Natasha Nel and latterly Vanessa Hika creating plenty of turnovers and hunting out to disrupt SMOG’s attacks. Tash Ford and Laura Murphy added energy through the midcourt, but the side’s low conversion rate was always going to come back and haunt the Picton side.
Eddie and Ryan provided a mobile, accurate attacking circle for SMOG, while Anna Thomas and Megan Cosgrove excelled in the centre of the court. Tracey Moanaroa was a defensive standout, alongside wing defence Jackie Smith and second half replacement Megan Fyfe, at goal keep.