Top 16 teams confirmed in Netball NZ U17 Champs

Photo Credit - Netball NZ

The top 16 teams have been determined after day two of the Netball NZ U17 Champs at the Pukekohe Netball Centre, with sides from the Waikato Bay of Plenty stamping their mark.

Both Eastern Waikato and Eastern Bay of Plenty went through pool play unbeaten to advance to the play-off rounds which begin tomorrow.

They are joined by the Mt Maunganui-based Harbourside, who edged out the top Waitakere team for a top 16 place, by virtue of a 43-42 nail-biter over Whanganui in the morning. Trust Waikato Hamilton City made it the fourth team from the Waikato Bay of Plenty zone to progress through to the top playoffs.

The Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone continues to grow in force through a strong focus on developing its community coaches.

The biggest upset of the day was handed out by Hutt Valley, who toppled the otherwise unbeaten Manawatu side in the morning’s rounds. Playing as a team and carrying out the basics well, the Hutt side pulled off a spine-tingling 31-30 victory. But it wasn’t quite enough to see them through to the top 16, with Waitakere 2 claiming the spot on goal differential.  

The leading teams from Auckland and Wellington continued their assertive runs at this tournament, using their strong benches to good effect and notching up sizeable victories to round out pool play unbeaten. North Harbour and Howick Pakuranga have also advanced without a blemish from their four qualifying matches.

The Netball NZ U17 Champs is the largest event on Netball New Zealand's calendar – this year featuring 38 teams and more than 450 talented young players across the four-day tournament.

Post-section play begins at 8.15am tomorrow, with the quarter-finals played in the afternoon. It is the first time a national Netball tournament has been held at the Pukekohe Netball Centre.

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Day 2 Results
 
 Team AResults  Team B
Harbourside43 - 42Whanganui
Howick Pakuranga A49 - 34Waitakere 1
Rotorua18 - 55Whangarei
Mangere Otahuhu26 - 44Waitakere 2
Manawatu30 - 31Hutt Valley
InvitationalLBD - WBD*Kapi Mana
Wellington Black A47 - 18Trust Waikato Hamilton City B
Kapiti18 - 47Christchurch
Ko Rua14 - 47Taranaki
Auckland 158 - 16Invercargill
Dunedin33 - 48Eastern Waikato
Hawke's Bay29 - 56North Harbour 1
Auckland 261 - 16Nelson
Trust Waikato Hamilton City A48 - 17North Canterbury
Whangarei50 - 31Mid Canterbury
Whanganui42 - 34Selwyn
Harbourside16 - 48Howick Pakuranga A
Waitakere 253 - 13Wairarapa
Kapi Mana23 - 34Gisborne
Taranaki36 - 28Pukekohe
Christchurch53 - 22Papakura
Wellington B Gold33 - 39Eastern Bay of Plenty
Mangere Otahuhu20 - 47Manawatu
North Harbour 241 - 39Thames Valley
Kapiti15 - 42Wellington Black A
Ko Rua11 - 70Auckland 1
Auckland 244 - 23North Canterbury
Trust Waikato Hamilton City A49 - 20Nelson
Selwyn20 - 38Waitakere 1
Mid Canterbury17 - 63North Harbour 1
Rotorua25 - 45Hawke's Bay
InvitationalLBD - WBD*Dunedin
Gisborne31 - 42Eastern Waikato
Hutt Valley48 - 18Wairarapa
Pukekohe52 - 20Invercargill
Papakura25 - 41Trust Waikato Hamilton City B
 
*Please note: Each team who plays the Invitational Team will be awarded 4 points for a win, and the score will not be included in the goal differential calculation. For this reason, in the system these games have been recorded as ‘won by default’ (WBD).