Manoa named netballer of year
Marlborough Girls’ College shooter Malia Manoa was named Marlborough netballer of the year on Sunday.
Following Marlborough Netball’s senior finals at Marlborough Lines Stadium the season’s awards were handed out, Manoa picking up the top prize for the player who has achieved at the highest level within the centre.
Manoa’s talent and dedication were recognised by Mainland Netball who placed her in the mainland High Performance Group. She was also included in the 2016 South Island Secondary Schools tournament team and attended the NZ schools camp in February. Manoa’s outstanding shooting continued into 2017 when, over three rounds of premier play, she finished with a stellar 87 percent shooting percentage, landing 525 of her 602 attempts.
Across the top grades, Harlequins’ Sarah Higgins was named top defender, Gane and Tokomaru’s Laura Murphy shared the midcourt award and Tokomaru’s Jess Prosser was voted top shooter.
Another highlight of the prizegiving ceremony was the presentation of an achievement award to Harlequins Radich Law skipper Bridget Gane. The evergreen midcourt player, who began playing premier netball in 1985, aged 15, has not missed a season since then. She played her 550th premier game at the start of round three this season, a remarkable milestone and a tribute to her commitment, fitness and resilience.
Also honoured were Trish Fuller, named the person contributing the most to netball, and official of the year Sonia Maxwell.
The various senior grade finals contested before the prizegiving were generally close affairs, three deciders being won by a single goal.
The grade one final was one of those nail-biters. Pelorus TPHC beat Harlequins Woodbourne in a tight, low-scoring encounter, Quins leading through the first three quarters before Pelorus turned the tables in the final 10 minutes.
Titles were shared around, MGC winning three, Pelorus taking out two while Harlequins, Bohally, United and Tokomaru, who took out the premier crown, claimed one win each.