Howick College 33 (Leehava Saverio 20/24, Lasalle Lefale 13/13) beat Saint Kentigern College 25 (Hannah Ward 7/9, Ashleigh Garner 18/24).  Quarter scores:  6-8, 15-16, 23-21, 33-25.

Howick College have completed an outstanding NZSS Netball Tournament by claiming their maiden title, beating defending champions and Auckland rivals Saint Kentigern College in the final at Rotorua this afternoon.

After beating St Kent’s by three goals in their first match of the tournament on Tuesday, Howick came from behind in the grand final with Saint Kentigern gaining the early break.

Goal attack Ashleigh Garner led from the front for Saint Kentigern – sinking eight from eight in the opening spell – as her side held an 8-6 advantage at the first break. But momentum swung after the whistles for the second quarter with Howick netting five unanswered goals, their resurgence spurred on by goal keeper Nanise Waqaira who snaffled two intercepts in the spell.
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Shooter Leehava Saverio also came into the game netting eight from nine in the quarter as Howick closed the gap to one goal by half-time.

The arm-wrestle continued into the third quarter with Saint Kentigern netting two quick goals before Howick started to assert their dominance and it was the latter which went into the fourth spell with a two-goal advantage.

Saint Kentigern coach Nicola Lewis made a change in the shooting circle for the fourth quarter with Garner swapping bibs with goal shooter Hannah Ward.

The switch made little difference as it was Howick which started the deciding spell the strongest with three straight goals giving it a sniff of victory.

The back three of Waqaira, goal defence Shalom Setu-Veve and wing Iva Livani combined well with the trio picking up five intercepts and nine deflections between them as they stifled Saint Kentigern’s flow up front.
Howick’s ability to share the shooting load again proved a strength to their game as they won the last quarter 10-4 to snare the spoils.

Manawatu school Manukura ensured it wasn’t to be an Auckland one-two-three finish by beating Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 37-30 in the playoff for third and fourth. Manukura won the game with a strong second quarter, winning that 15-6 and leading 23-15 at halftime.

Centre Braxton Te Rini was a stand-out in the middle for Manukura picking up five intercepts and feeding her shooters well. Manukura were also bookended by strong showings from goal keeper Antonia Heihei who snaffled five intercepts and six deflections while shooter Rochelle Fourie netted 30 goals for her side and picked up five valuable rebounds.

Howick won the NZSS Nationals this year after qualifying fifth out of six teams in the recent UNISS tournament. Of note, they beat St Kent's 29-28 there too, so have won three on the trot against them.

Finals Day results:
Final: Howick College 33 – Saint Kentigern College 25
3rd v 4th: Manukura 37 – Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 30
5th v 6th: Waikato Diocesan School for Girls 31 – Mount Albert Grammar School 27
7th v 8th: St Mary’s College 29 – St Hilda’s Collegiate.
9th v 10th: St Paul’s Collegiate 32 – Sacred Heart College 22
11th v 12th: St Margaret’s 42 – Ashburton College 17
13th v 14th:  Palmerston North Girls' High School 37 – Queen Margaret College 27
15th v 16th: St Andrew's College 33 – Christchirch Girls’ High School 30
 
Howick College road to the title
Beat Saint Kentigern College 30-27
Beat Palmerston North Girls' High School 35-20
Beat Christchurch Girls' High School 43-17
Beat Waikato Diocesan School for Girls 30-26
Beat St Hilda’s Collegiate 40-21
Beat Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 33-29
Beat Saint Kentigern College 33-25
 
Howick College squad list
Dajian Brown Myia Hetaraka Susana Jones Lasalle Lefale Iva Livani Sal Pamatatau Tori Parker Leehava Saverio Shalom Setu-Veve Teuila Sotutu Su-Elyse Ulugia Nanise Waqaira Captains: Lasalle Lefale & Iva Livani Coach: Adelita Sotutu Assistant Coach: Jasmyn Pamatatau Manager: Chris Dyke Primary Care: Leah Belle Statistician: Jen-Rose Reu
 
NZSS Netball last 10 winners
2017: Howick College
2016: Saint Kentigern College
2015 Mt Albert Grammar School
 2014 Mt Albert Grammar School
 2013 Mt Albert Grammar School
 2012 Mt Albert Grammar School
 2011 Tu Toa
 2010 Mt Albert Grammar School
 2009 Tu Toa
 2008 Villa Maria College
 
Most winners
5: Mount Albert Grammar School
4: Auckland Girls’ Grammar School
2: Bay of Islands College, Avondale College, Verdon College, Massey High School, Tu Toa,
1. Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, Wellington Girls’ College, Hillcrest High School, Villa Maria College, Howick College

Last year’s runners-up Mount Albert Grammar School and first time participant Howick College are the two unbeaten sides after two days of four of the NZSS Netball Nationals being played at the National Events Centre in Rotorua.
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MAGS and Howick each topped their pools and also won their first top eight section matches on Wednesday evening.

Howick College set the tournament alight on day one by upsetting defending champions Saint Kentigern College 30-27 in their opening encounter. Howick College, making their first appearance at the NZSS nationals then went on to defeat Palmerston North Girls’ High School and Christchurch Girls’ High School in pool play before toppling Waikato Diocesan 30-26 in tonight’s first crossover game.

Howick’s win over St Kent’s also set up a tough Wednesday evening crossover fixture between St Kent’s (second behind Howick in Pool A) and Manawatu champions Manukura (Pool B winners). St Kent’s won that match 35-34.

Meanwhile, MAGS won all their Pool C matches comfortably, before defeating Wellington’s St Mary’s College 35-27 in their opening top 8 fixture this evening.

In tonight’s other top 8 crossover Section E and F match, Pool D winner Epsom Girls’ Grammar School (two wins from three in their pool games) lowered South Island champions St Hilda’s Collegiate 52-26.

Draws and Results

For full draws and results and to follow the tournament visit: http://www.netballnz.co.nz/competitions/competition-detail/nz-secondary-schools-netball-champs

Pool play results – days one and two

Pool A
Howick College 30 – Saint Kentigern College 27
Christchurch Girls’ High School 36 – Palmerston North Girls’ High School 30
Saint Kentigern College 50 - Christchurch Girls’ High School 20
Howick College 35 - Palmerston North Girls’ High School 20
Saint Kentigern College 46 - Palmerston North Girls’ High School 20
Howick College 43 - Christchurch Girls’ High School 17
Pool winner: Howick College
 
Pool B
 
Manukura 30 - Waikato Diocesan School for Girls 26
Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt 38 – St Margaret’s College 27
Manukura 38 – St Margaret’s College 22
Waikato Diocesan School for Girls 32 - Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt 28
Manukura 44 - Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt 18
Waikato Diocesan School for Girls 40 - St Margaret’s College 37
Pool winner: Winner: Manukura
 
Pool C
St Hilda's Collegiate School 39 – Queen Margaret College 27
Mount Albert Grammar School 51 – Ashburton College 25
Mount Albert Grammar School 41 – St Hilda’s Collegiate 21
Ashburton College 35 – Queen Margaret College 34
St Hilda's Collegiate School 44 – Ashburton College 27
Mount Albert Grammar School 56 v Queen Margaret College 25
Pool winner: Mount Albert Grammar School
 
Pool D
Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 31 – St Mary’s College 30
St Paul's Collegiate School 46 – St Andrew’s College 27
St Mary’s College 45 – St Andrew’s College 20
St Paul's Collegiate School 28 – Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 27
Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 53 – St Andrew’s College 29
St Mary’s College 32 - St Paul’s Collegiate School 28
Pool winner: Epsom Girls’ Grammar School

Christchurch Girls’ High School last qualified for the NZSS Netball Nationals in 2013 when they finished 16th. Before that they attended the tournament in 2001 and 2003; their best result being in 2001 when they were runners-up.
 
This year, CGHS qualified from the recent SISS tournament, finishing fifth behind winners St Hilda’s Collegiate, subsequently moved up to fourth qualifier following the withdrawal of Columba College. At Rotorua, CGHS are in Pool A and play Palmerston North Girls’ High School and defending champions Saint Kentigern College on day one on Tuesday.
 
Some more about their team below.

School: Christchurch Girls’ High School
Coach:  Andrea Cousins
Captains: Greer Williams, Deputy Evie Dysart

Team Members: ​Sam Adams, Shana Ali, Ella Bachop, Evie Dysart, Emma Hartnell, Charlotte Knight, Isla Kolien, Martha Lolohea, Kiah Ralph, Greer Williams

What’s it going to take for your school to do well in the NZSS Nationals next week in Rotorua?
Our team performs at our best when we use ball speed in any turn over ball from defence through to our shooters; players have great confidence in each other and let the ball go. Our defence right through the court is also a strength. The team members get on very well with each other and have fun on and off the court. We need to maintain our positive team culture throughout Nationals in Rotorua.
 
What local competitions has your school team played in this year and how did your team go?
Our team play in the Wednesday school SuperNet competition (we came 5th this year) and in the Saturday Christchurch Club competition. In the Saturday competition we play a mixture of school and club teams. This year our team won the Senior 1 competition, which was a fantastic result. One other event we played in this year, and won, was the annual Quadrangular tournament with Waitaki, Timaru and Avonside Girls’ High Schools.

​Who are your school’s closest rivals on the netball court?
St Andrew’s College, St Margaret’s College, Ashburton College and Villa Maria College.

Tell us about a memorable match your team has been involved in this year?
In the SISS Netball tournament we had a great game against eventual winners St Hilda’s College. The game was close throughout, with some spectacular netball played on centre court at the Hagley Netball courts. St Hilda’s were the eventual winners by 6 goals, however, the team came off the court feeling proud of the game they had played.

What’s the age make-up of your team?
None of our team have participated in this tournament before. We have a mixture of year 11, 12 and 13 girls.
 
What’s the strength of your team?
In our team this year we have three Christchurch Netball Centre representative players. Kiah was a member of the Under 19 team and Sam and Shana were both in the Under 17 team. Three of our players were named in the talented players’ squad after the SISS tournament – a player from our shooting circle - Kiah, our mid court - Shana and our defence circle - Charlotte. We have particular strength right though the court! Shana and Charlotte are two of our year 11 players, which is great for the future of the team.

Are there individuals in your team that also play other sports?
SIx of our team also play volleyball and all attended Volleyball Nationals this year. Two of the team are involved in Sevens and attended the Condor Nationals at the end of 2016.

What other support has your team received to get to allow it to operate at the level it does?
Our coach Andrea Cousins is also coach of Technical A netball team who were runners up in the Christchurch Netball Premier club competition. Andrea frequently brings some of her Technical players to the side line of our team’s games for inspiration and to add their input. In turn, our players have watched some of the Technical games to witness the skill and flair these older players display in their game. The team have had sponsors’ support through a newspaper advertising feature. They are grateful to the following businesses for their generosity: Performance Physio, Trevino’s Restaurant and Bar, L & A Apparel and Monograms, Ali’s Panel and Paint, Lewthwaite & Associates Limited (chartered accountants), Joe Brankin of Mike Pero Real Estate, Nairn Electrical, Canter Projects, Bailies Bar and Restaurant, Limit Zero and Nesbit Shearing Limited.

Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt will be competing at the NZSS National Netball Tournament for the first time since 2012.

Sacred Heart College qualified fifth from the Lower North Island tournament after narrowly missing out in previous years, pipping New Plymouth Girls’ High School 29-28 in a clutch penultimate match and then beating Newlands College 49-26 to seal their berth.

The 2017 Hutt Valley champions and Wellington region runners-up this year, Sacred Heart College are initially grouped in Pool B in Rotorua. They open their tournament against Christchurch’s St Margaret’s College and also play Waikato Dio on day one.

Some questions and answers below from coach Amy Atkinson. 

School: Sacred Heart College Lower Hutt
Coach: Amy Atkinson
Captains: Bridie Burns (c) Charity Polu (vc)
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Team Members: ​ Bridie Burns,  Charity Polu,  Brooklyn Siemonek,  Malia Pole’o, Taumaia Schuster,  Nicola Donaldson,  Livia Serepisos, Oakley Baldwin, Shaunee Mahuika, Pallas Potter, Taualai Sola, Danielle Tafili
 
What’s it going to take for your school to do well in the NZSS Nationals coming up in Rotorua?
Keep doing what we have been doing.  We have a committed team of 12 players who are working towards the same goal.
 
What local competitions has your school team played in this year and how did your team go?
Our team played in both the Hutt Valley Secondary Schools premier 1 grade and the Wellington Regional Secondary Schools competition. We finished in first place for the Hutt Valley competition and second Place for Wellington Regional League. We also competed at Mission Cup, the annual Catholic Mission Schools tournament and won the tournament.

Who are your school’s closest rivals on the netball court?
We have two teams that we see as our rivals, both because we play them a number of times during the season and also because we respect them as netballers and the high standard of netball they produce. The first is St Oran’s from the Hutt Valley, who for the past three years we have played in the Hutt Valley Secondary Schools premier final. The second is St Marys College. We have an annual exchange with them and also play them in the Wellington Secondary Schools premier 1 competition.
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Tell us about a memorable match your team has been involved in this year?
We have had the good fortune to be involved is so many outstanding and memorable games of netball this season where the team has had the opportunity to play quality sides and quality netball.
One such game was against New Plymouth Girls High School at LNISS.
 
It was a must win game for both sides for the opportunity to play off for a spot at Nationals the next morning. Three minutes left in the match we were down by 3 but the girls fought right to the end. With seconds left on the clock our centre took a glory intercept which we scored off in umpire’s time to win the match by one. The whole team went crazy in excitement and it was like we had won the world cup. We then went on the have a comfortable win the next morning to qualify for nationals.

What’s the age make-up of your team?
Our team is made up of Year 12 and 13 players.
 
What’s the strength of your team?
A strength of the team is how tight we are as a unit.  Together the girls set the team goals and expectations for the season.  Each girl worked hard all season to meet these expectations.   We had a team of players who was prepared to do the work to achieve their goals.

Most of the team have played netball together for a long time progressed through the grades together and just two players from the squad of 12 are in their first year in the team.

Are there individuals in your team that also play other sports?
The number of sports the girls play in our team is far and wide. Pallas Potter is the captain of the New Zealand Junior White Sox, Danielle Tafili was in both the Central Netball Beko and Super Club Pulse teams, Bridie Burns is in the NZ U17 indoor netball team who won the world championships in July and we have representative players for Touch NZ, Water Polo and Volleyball. This variety brings a wealth of experience to the team from a high level of competition and performance.
 
Does your team have any pre or post game rituals or preparations?
At LNISS we set the ultimate goal of qualifying for nationals. The team then identified four things we had to do on and off the court to reach that goal. This was taped above to doorway to the entrance of our accommodation. As we left for every game, each girl would tap the goal on their way out and take a moment to reflect on the goal and what we wanted to achieve as a team.

What other support has your team received to get to allow it to operate at the level it does?
The parents of our team are amazing. They have been extraordinarily supportive this season with them packing the sidelines each week and also travelling to New Plymouth for LNISS to support our quest for Nationals.  They ran fundraisers, supplied copious amounts of food while at tournament, on the scorecard every match and 100% believed in the team.
 
We have been extremely fortunate to have such an amazing mother as the manager of the team for the past two years who has also been the Ying to my Yang! She has been great to have on the sideline and a wonderful support. 
 
We have been incredibly fortunate that the AMNICO Foundation has funded the team for Nationals with a significant sum of money, without this we would be sausage sizzling until next year! 
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The team is also grateful to Hutt Valley Secondary Schools Netball who gave the team a donation for nationals, and the school’s sports department who has also contributed financially and spent many hours preparing all the paperwork etc to get the team away on trips.
 
Finally, the support of the teachers at SHC who have given up their Monday nights to come and watch the girls play. The girls love it and really appreciate it. 

In their 100th year, St Andrew’s College will once again feature at the NZSS Netball Championships in Rotorua in the second week of the school holidays.

St Andrew’s College have qualified for the 16-team tournament over each of the past four years, having finished 10th in 2014 and 15th in both 2015 and last year.

StAC qualified second for nationals at the recent SISS tournament, losing to Dunedin’s St Hilda’s Collegiate 38-33 in the final, after beating Dunedin’s Columba College 40-28 in their semi-final. They also won this year’s Canterbury Supernet competition.
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Some questions and answers below from team captain Samantha Molloy.

School: St Andrew’s College
Coaches: Kirsty Carline
Captain: Samantha Molloy

Team Members:
Samantha Molloy, Olivia Clark, Jess Allan, Amelia Holmes, Olivia Tutty, Amelia Sharpe, Georgia Woollett, Heitawhiri Cooper, Brianna Fidow, Kate Allan, Alice Thomson, Emily Allan.

What’s it going to take for your school to do well in the NZSS Nationals coming up in Rotorua?
We need to get our connection working quickly and that applies to off court as well, we need to make sure that we are respecting and enjoying each other’s company off court as well.

What local competitions has your school team played in this year and how did your team go?
We have played in the Saturday Christchurch Netball competition, where we moved up a grade from Senior 1 to Premier 2 and placed 4th. We played in the Christchurch SuperNet Secondary Schools Netball Competition, which we won.  We played in the South Island Secondary Schools Netball Tournament, where we were runners-up.

Who are your school’s closest rivals on the netball court?
St Margaret’s College have always been a rival school having been strong contenders of the SuperNet Shield over the last few years.

Tell us about a couple of memorable matches your team has been involved in this year?
One of most memorable matches would have to be beating Villa Maria in the Supernet semi -final - and then also following this up at South Islands, beating them again to qualify for semi-finals and Nationals.
 
Another memorable game is the win we had over old rivals St Margaret’s College to take the SuperNet Shield. This was memorable as St Margaret’s have always been a tough side to play and this is the first year we have beaten them.

What’s the age make-up of your team?
We have five Year 13 students, so we are an old team. We have two Year 12’s, two year 11s and three Year 10’s. There is one girl playing her fourth and final nationals tournament – Olivia Clark (previously Palmerston North 2014, Ashburton 2015, Lower Hutt 2016). Jess Allen and Samantha Molloy are playing in their third and final national tournament (Ashburton 2015, Lower Hutt 2016) and Amelia Holmes, Amelia Sharpe and Olivia Tutty are playing in their second national tournament. (Lower Hutt 2016).

What’s the strength of your team?
We have a lot of fight in us and we are known for being down at half time and then fighting back, we do not give up until the game is over.

Are there individuals in your team that also play other sports?
We have a few girls that do athletics, touch, volleyball and rowing. Some play basketball competitively and socially as well.
 
Does your team have a motto or a mascot or any pre or post game rituals or preparations?
We have a school smurf as a St Andrew’s College Mascot. Our team motto/quote would be, ‘You can lead the horse to the water but you can’t make the horse drink.’ We also love it when our manager (Megan Hutton) raps to Vanilla Ice’s – Ice Ice Baby.
 
What other support has your team received to get to allow it to operate at the level it does?
Huge support from our parents, they have been amazing!   Shoe Clinic for sponsoring us with new shoes for the season. We made a video to thank them, which you can see on the Shoe Clinic Riccarton Website or this link -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e44XU6Zh7GY&feature=youtu.be -  It’s quite a laugh!  Also coaches that have done specialist sessions with us – Ana Galvin and Ronelle van Dongen.  And special shout out to our fitness sports and conditioning trainer – Todd Henderson aka ‘Toddie the Hottie.’

Look out for the Howick College netball team at the NZSS Netball Nationals in Rotorua in the second week of the holidays.

The multi-talented group of young players finished fifth at the recent Upper North Island regional tournament to qualify for nationals for the first time.

The team is looking forward to going, said captain Lasalle Lefale. “This is the first time for our team and the first time for our school at Nationals and we are excited to be there.”

Captain Lasalle is also the only year 13 player in a youthful group going to Nationals. “I’m only 17 as well, as we have got a few year 12s and year 11s and one year 10 as well.”
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Lasalle, who plays goal attack, goal shoot and wing attack, has been in the Premier team for three years, starting off when Howick College were in the B Grade.

Howick’s rise has been steady over the past five years. In 2013 they were 6th in the B Grade of the UNISS tournament, in 2014 they were 13th in the B grade, in 2015 they won B Grade to earn promotion, in 2016 they finished 10th in the A Grade and this year they rose to fifth.

The top six placed teams qualified from UNISS for nationals.

Going into the last day of the UNISS tournament Howick had to beat Hamilton Girls’ High School to secure their historic berth for Rotorua. They won that 42-23 “That was probably the most important game for us, so it was good to win well over them,” said Lasalle.

Howick College then beat another Hamilton school, St Paul’s, in the playoff for fifth and sixth, 32-21. “The day before that we lost to them so we had to play them again and we won.”

“A key game for us at the UNISS tournament was beating St Kent’s. We won by one [29-28] in our second round of pool games and they went on to win the tournament. That gave us confidence, especially for our young girls.”

Howick plays St Kent's again in their very first match at Nationals on Tuesday week, and are also meet Palmerston North Girls' High School late on day one. 
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Nanise Waqaira and Iva Livani were both selected in the 20-player UNISS tournament team afterwards.  

Situated in nearby Pakuranga, St Kent’s are a rival school to Howick College. “Another school that we have good sporting battles against is One Tree Hill College.”

Howick also came fifth in the Auckland Premier competition this year. The team’s motto is ‘Up the Waka’, after the Howick College emblem.

Lasalle said the team has a strong bond and they band together well when the going gets tough. “Because we are close in ages, everyone is really close with each other and we are one big family.”

“A playing strength of our team is our height. We have got three giants in our team! We have got one in the shooting end and two tall defenders.”

Howick’s team is multi-talented. “Most of us play sevens, touch and volleyball as well. Basically everybody is playing other sports!”

The first week of the school holidays next week promises to be busy. As well as preparing for the netball Nationals, five members of the squad have a New Zealand schoolgirls rugby sevens trial on Friday.
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Howick College originally had eight players out of 120 throughout the country for those rugby sevens trials. One has since injured herself while five of them are netball girls - captain Lasalle, Shalom Setu-Veve, Iva Livani, Teuila Sotutu and Jennifer-Rose Reu. 

Defending national champions Saint Kentigern College, Manukura and St Hilda’s Collegiate won the three respective regional Premier A Grade netball tournaments during last week’s Winter Tournament Week.

St Kent’s won the Upper North Island tournament in Auckland, Manukura the Lower North Island Tournament in New Plymouth and St Hilda’s the South Island Tournament in Christchurch.

The three schools will enter October’s NZSS 16-school tournament Rotorua as the top seeds from their regions.

Upper North Island Tournament

St Kent’s edged their great rivals and last year’s UNISS champions Mount Albert Grammar School 39-38 in the final. St Kent’s and MAGS had also been grouped in the same pool, with St Kent’s winning their round-robin match 39-29.

In the semi-finals earlier in the day, St Kent’s had beaten Waikato Dio 41-27, while MAGS has beaten Epsom Girls’ Grammar School 28-27. Howick College beat St Paul’s Collegiate 32-21 in the fifth v sixth match.

The six teams that qualified from the UNISS region for the NZSS nationals were:
1. St Kent’s;2. MAGS; 3. EGGS; 4.Waikato Dio; 5. Howick College; 6. St Paul’s Collegiate

The A Grade Pool winners earlier in the week were: St Kent’s, EGGS, One Tree Hill College, Aorere College, St Cuthert’s College, St Peter’s College, Trident High School and Rotorua Girls’ High School.

Whangaparaoa College won the UNISS B Grade tournament, McAuley won the C Grade and Mercury Bay College the D Grade.

Saint Kentigern College’s Tayla Earle was the Midcourter and Player of the Tournament, MAGS’ Lahaina-Lee Upu-Toparea was the Shooter of the Tournament and EGGS’ Greer Sinclair was the Defender of the Tournament.

The UNISS A Grade Tournament Team was:
Theresa Ngata (Aorere College), Bianca Nagaiya (EGGS), Greer Sinclair (EGGS), Tamara Leoni (EGGS), Hannah Riddle-Pelchen (Hamilton GHS), Lyanne Eukaliti (Hillcrest HS), Naise Waqaira (Howick), Iva Livani (Howick),  Lahaina-Lee Upu-Toparea (MAGS), Armani Lam (MAGS), Maddy Gordon (MAGS), Ruby Young (MAGS), Tori Kolose (St Kent’s), Tayla Earle (St Kent’s), Ashleigh Garner (St Kent’s), Kate Littlejohn (St Paul’s), Lisa Mather (St Peter’s), Ki-Tana Tuhakaraina (St Peter’s), Khiarna Williams (Trident HS), Ali Wilshier (Waikato Dio)

 Lower North Island Tournament

Manukura from Palmerston North finished third at last year’s NZSS Nationals and successfully defended their title in New Plymouth on Friday.

Manukura beat St Mary’s College 44-30 in the final.

Manukura had beaten Queen Margaret College 43-17 in their semi-final, while St Mary’s had defeated Palmerston North GHS 43-23.

Palmerston North GHS beat Queen Margaret College 27-23 in the playoff for third and fourth and Sacred Heart College Lower Hutt beat Newlands College 49-26 in the playoff for fifth and sixth match.

Wairarapa College won the B Grade division, with Wanganui  Girls  College second.

The five teams that qualified for the top 16 NZSS nationals from the Lower North Island tournament were:
1. Manukura; 2. St Mary’s; 3.  Palmerston North GHS; 4. Queen Margaret College, 5. Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt.

The A Grade Tournament Team was:
Edyn  Boyes ()Palmerston North GHS),  Beyonce  Rehutai Wellington  East Girls College), Tiuana-Marie  Aiono (Queen Margaret  College), Braxton  Te Rini (Manukura), Saviour  Tui (St Mary’s), Asher  Grapes (Hastings GHS), Ainsleyana  Puleiata (St Mary’s), Diahn  Tepania-Strickland (Manukura), Brooke  Neilson (New Plymouth GHS), Grace  McLean (Queen Margaret  College), Jaydi  Chaffey-Taylor (Napier GHS), Paris  Lokotui (Queen Margaret  College), Diaz  Tepania-Strickland (Manukura) Paige  Neilson (New Plymouth GHS), Liana  Mikaele-Tuu (Hastings GHS), Lin  Tokalautawa (Palmerston North GHS),  Antonia  HeiHei (Manukura)

South Island Tournament

Dunedin’s St Hilda’s Collegiate defended the title they won last year, beating St Andrew’s College 38-33 in the final.

St Margaret’s College beat Columba College 37-32 in the playoff for third and fourth, while Christchurch Girls’ High School defeated Southland Girls’ High School 33-29 to finish fifth.

The five schools that qualified for the NZSS nationals are:
1. St Hilda’s Collegiate; 2. St Andrew’s College; 3. St Margaret’s College; 4. Columba College; 5. Christchurch Girls’ High School

Of note, Columba College were seeded in 15th coming into the tournament and Christchurch GHS 11th, while Southland GHS who featured in last year’s nationals were seeded fourth but finished seventh.

Blue Mountain won the B Grade and Fiordland College won the C Grade.

Up to this year, Epsom Girls’ Grammar School has never had a New Zealand Secondary Schools netball representative.

Last month that all changed when not one but three of their players were named in the 12-strong NZSS team to travel to Australia in September to attend the Netball Australia 17-and-under training camp and play in a round-robin tournament with three other teams. 

Greer Sinclair, Bianca Nagaiya and Tamara Leoni are all in the NZSS squad for the trip to Canberra.

Greer is Year 12 and in her second year as captain of EGGS and said that hard work and a healthy team culture has paid off for the trio’s selection. “Bianca [also Year 12] and I got a trial last year but neither made it, but we worked hard throughout the year and all three of us were selected which rewards our extra effort.”

Year 13 Tamara was also a member of the Aotearoa Maori Netball International Secondary School (AMNISS) team that won the International U19 Schools Challenge tournament in Fiji in May – beating the Australians twice (30-26 and 40-28).

“We also have two girls in our school team that were in the Cook Islands U21 team that competed in the junior world championships in Botswana recently [won by New Zealand], said Greer.”
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The Cook Islands U21 representatives were Nina Tai Roberts and Celeste Patutama. Amie Hucker was a recent NZ U15 Indoor representative that competed at the Junior Worlds in South Africa last month. 

Last year EGGS were winners of the Carole Craighead Trophy for best overall school results in the Auckland Netball Secondary Schools competition, reflecting the development of their netball programme.

Greer, Bianca and Tamara have all been part of Auckland representative teams in recent seasons, with the U17 side finishing runners-up to Wellington two years running, this year losing 25-34 to them in the Anna Rowberry Cup final. Greer and Bianca made the U17 tournament team.
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The last round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition was played earlier this evening, with EGGS beating Westlake Girls’ High School 39-31 to finish third. St Kent's and Mount Albert Grammar School met in the grand final that followed.

The win for EGGS over Westlake this evening reversed their 35-40 defeat to them earlier in the round-robin, after early beating them comfortably in a pre-season tournament. 

It’s the first of three major competitions that EGGS hope to compete in in 2017, for the third consecutive year, with the Upper North Island Secondary Schools (UNISS) Tournament and the New Zealand Secondary Schools tournament to come.

“Our goal is to try and beat our record from last year when we finished fourth, fourth and fourth.” Greer explained before this evening's match. “We want to try and work on getting a top three placing this year.”

​First goal achieved. 
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The top six teams from the UNISS tournament qualify for the 16-team nationals, being played in Rotorua in early October.

Last year, EGGS were beaten by Palmerston North’s Manukura in the playoff for third and fourth. Greer and Bianca both made the tournament team.

Greer said that MAGS and St Kent’s are again amongst the teams to beat at UNISS and nationals.

“MAGS are really close rivals, but we have had some close games against them this year and they have lost some games such as their one-point loss to One Tree Hill College who we beat by 14 the next week.”

“It’s really close competition, and when we are playing MAGS and St Kent’s we just need to get right the mental side of it.”

Greer has been in the EGGS Premier team since Year 9. She was vice-captain in Year 10 and captain for the first time last season. There’s currently a good balance of young and senior players in the squad. “Our team ranges from Year 10 to 13 and we have one Year 9 development player, so we have a good mix.”

Greer is a specialist defender, with goal defence her preference, Bianca is a specialist attacker with goal shoot her most common position and Tamara plays both goal shoot and goal keep.

Greer and Bianca have been playing netball all their lives. Bianca is Auckland born and bred, while Greer is from Waiuku who started at EGGS as a boarder but now lives in Auckland.

As well as netball, Bianca plays tennis. “Last year I was in the top tennis team at school, but nowadays I just play tennis with my dad and more for fun.”