Hardfought grade at pointy end
IT is crunch time for the Dunedin premier women’s club competition.
Players are preparing for the final round robin games in the grade this weekend, and if the rest of the season is any indication, anything could happen.
AlhambraUnion (26) sits at the top of the table, recording five wins and two losses this season, but the Crazy Horses have some Sharks nipping at their tails.
Defending champion Dunedin (21) is second and will be gunning to get over the line when the two sides play each other today.
Otago University (21) and Big River Country (16) round out the top four, but the fifthplaced Waitaki Wa¯hine (13) have been competitive this season, upsetting the Sharks 3419 and Big River 5227.
Those scorelines — and all teams having beaten each other — indicate the level of the competition has stepped up another level this year, something that impresses new Otago Spirit head coach Craig Sneddon.
‘‘I’ve been really impressed with the standard,’’ he said.
‘‘I think everyone’s sort of bettered everyone. It’s a nice and close competition.’’
The tight club competition had set the platform for the players to push on further when it came to Farah Palmer Cup later this year.
‘‘I think that’s the thing, isn’t it,’’ Sneddon said.
‘‘At the end of the day, we want our club comp to be as competitive as it can, because it puts people under pressure at club level [and] it makes the step up to the next level a little easier.
‘‘You know, I think definitely the speed of the game at club level and conditions . . . have been awesome this year.
‘‘I think the tight comp’s going to make it hard to select a team, put it that way.’’
Women’s club semifinals are on June 10 and the final will be held the week after on June 17.
The Otago Spirit’s final home games have been revealed.
The Spirit will play its first home game in the Farah Palmer Cup in Oamaru against Taranaki (July 29), before hosting North Harbour at Forsyth Barr Stadium (August 12) and Manawatu at the University Oval (August 19).