Glow start RANL season on a high
RAINBOW Netball League defending champions Glow Petroleum Queens seek to extend their dominance in domestic netball after starting the season on a high, winning both their fixtures in Bulawayo at the weekend.
The Perpetua Siyachitema-led side were the biggest winners in the opening week of the RANL Season 2024 which hosted more than 20 games that were played in bubble format at seven venues across provinces.
To stamp authority, Glow whitewashed Golden Valley 88-16 before beating Rio-Zim 86-19.
Siyachitema paid tribute to her charges for starting the season on a high and also called for consistency if they were to retain their title.
“It is difficult to maintain when you have stayed at the top for so long because everyone will be preparing and aiming to defeat you fact, you become everyone’s target hence you constantly have to think outside the box,” she said.
“Staying at the peak comes with a lot of pressure but we should learn how best to handle it.
“We should not be complacent at all, we will treat every team as a big team and approach each game as it is.
“My message to the girls has always been for them to work harder than last season, stick to our training and game plans, and avoid pressure at all costs so what is key right now is for us to remain focused and double our work rate.”
Prisons side Correctional Queens and ZRP Mambas who finished last season as the first and second Runners-Up respectively also cemented their positions walking away with victories in their games.
With the games running under the theme “Say No to Drugs”, Mambas got the better of Chibwe Queens 30-42 before brushing aside Belvedere Teachers’ College 64-29.
Correctional Queens also beat Bright Emerald 23-62 and went on to punish Ruwa Queens 19-95 in a lopsided affair.
RANL Secretary General Moses Gukurume said they are pleased with the league opening week with all teams having fulfilled their fixtures.
“We have 18 teams, our league as we wanted has already taken shape in the first week,” he said.
“We are now a registered league with Zimbabwe Netball Association (ZINA) as its affiliate so this season we want to improve in terms of professionalism.
“Of particular concern in the past was the issue of player registration and we are happy that we have gone a long way in addressing that because you find that in the past players could freely hop from one club to another and now we have put an end to all that.
“This season we will be playing our games under the theme “Say No to Drug and Substance Abuse” and “Raise Cancer Awareness”.
“This came after we noted that as sports-persons, we have a lot of influence in raising awareness in society hence we should play our part.”
RANL, which was launched in the capital on September 10, 2021, as a Super League breakaway, has seen outstanding growth and competition over the years.
RANL League Week 1 Results
Chibwe Queens 30, Black Mambas 42; Black Mambas 64, Belvedere 29; Chibwe Queens 56, Belvedere 24; Bright Emerald 23, Correctional 62; Correctional 95, Ruwa 19; Bright Emerald 57, Ruwa 26; Yadah 33, Support Unit 35; Support Unit 33, Flow Angels 43; Yadah 25, Flow Angels 36; Mweyamutsvene 28, Tenax 63; Tenax 39, Santa Queens 25, Mweyamutsvene 23, Santa Queens 33; Bikita Minerals 36, Hi Flyers 39; ZRP Masvingo 39, Hi Flyers 27; Bikita Minerals 25, ZRP Masvingo 54; Mthala Queens 51, Filchrist 37; Filchrist 29, Khami 47; Golden Valley 14, Glow Petroleum 88, Glow Petro-leum 86, Rio Zim 16, Golden Valley 43, Rio Zim 21.