First netball success for Burnside

Press, 23 June 1986, Page 30

First netball success for Burnside

The Burnside players were jubilant on Saturday after upsetting Hagley, 46-45, at the Hagley courts for its first win of the season in the Trusteebank premier inter-club netball competition. This well-deserved win was achieved in grand style. Burnside attacked, defended and, especially, netted almost faultlessly. Hagley led at the completion of the first and third quarters, but never really had the edge. In the finish its solid attack was no match for Burnside’s enthusiasm. The only other surprise win of the day came from St Nicholas B which beat Sacred Heart B to join that side and South Brighton in top position in the senior grade. Points.— Premier: St Nicholas A 13, Hagley All, Sacred Heart A 10, Riccarton 4, Burnside 3, Hornby-Wycola 1. Senior: Sacred Heart B 10, St Nicholas B 10, South Brighton A 10, St Nicholas E 8, Technical 4, Cashmere 0. Premier Burnside 46, Hagley 45 Bumside began well and looked comfortable, with Leith McPherson and Sharon Dawson gaining quick goals early in the match. Trailing, 9-12, at quartertime, Burnside levelled at 1515, then crept ahead by three goals and maintained this lead for the remainder of the second quarter. Hagley’s shooting seemed to flounder for a time early in the game, which did nothing to boost its confidence when the score was so close. Combined with this, Hagley’s usually successful long, lofted pass down to Jan Pickering in the circle never came off either, due to the unpredictable, swirling wind.

Burnside was really fired up by the third quarter and had kept its passes low and direct, a new Camp combination of Suzanne and Jackie working well to move the ball through mid-court, past Hagley’s experienced wing-de-fence, Alison McKenzie, and the goal-defence, Evonne Rooney. Hagley returned with renewed vigour in the third quarter and a goal-for-goal battle ensued and Hagley’s circle and mid-court areas improved tremendously in this quarter, and the centre, Linda Parnham, and the wing-attack, Marianne Selby, read the play more effectively, quickly capitalising on interceptions. In the last quarter the score was very close but Burnside’s confidence at this crucial time seemed to spur it into action. Its shoots could do no wrong and this combined with its mid-court attack proved a formidable partnership. It was an all-out

team effort from Bumside and easily its best showing for the season. Sacred Heart A 71, Hornby-Wycola 23 The strong, icy wind made conditions frustrating for this, the first Premier match of the day. It was a typically polished performance from Sacred Heat, which with Leigh Gibbs back at the helm, is more like the Sacred Heart of old. Sacred Heart never really looked threatened after the initial settling-in period and went from strength to strength. Its defence in the circle was working well, and Jan Marshall, in particular, never let much slip through her safe hands. Hornby seemed to have difficulty coping with the conditions, particularly in the circle, where its shooting was tentative. Sacred Heart kept the passing short and sharp and met the ball early. Hornby had no real answer to this show of strength and only occasionally revealed effective resistance. Sacred Heart notched up an impressive goal tally considering the playing conditions and credit must go to its shoots, Stephanie StokesWashington and Diana Houghton, for their concentrated display in the circle. St Nicholas A 59, Riccarton 37 The wind acted as a great leveller in the first half of this match. Riccarton played extremely well to keep within six or seven goals of the highy-rated St Nicholas for this length of time. Riccarton’s defence; in particular, kept on its toes, especially in the circle, where Stephenie Bourne and Rose Clifford caught valuable rebounds off Ann Davidson and April Irnemia’s uncharacteristically missed attempts. Riccarton was also quick to the loose ball and Karen Donnell at wing-defence as well as Karen Erickson at centre, displayed perceptiveness and good footwork. However, after half-time, St Nicholas seemed to tighten its game much more, especially its shooting. Davidson and Irnemia’s consistency in the circle improved as they learned to read the wind’s direction. St Nicholas brought on Angela Pule at goal-defence and moved Chris Mitchell to wing-defence. The presence of Pule in Riccarton’s circle helped boost St Nicholas to a firm 20-goal lead during the last quarter. Senior St Nicholas B 33, Sacred Heart B 27 St Nicholas B, in secondequal position with South Brighton, was keen to beat Sacred Heart B and joing Sacred Heart at the top of the points table. An usually despondent

Sacred Heart side was trailing at the end of each quarter, and never really settled in. St Nicholas, on the other hand, was very positive, and this could be seen in its assured, controlled passing and sense of purpose. At half-time St Nicholas moved its centre, Susannah Brocherie, to wing-attack, the wing-defence Tracey Scott to centre and the wing-attack Ann-Marie Robinson to wingdefence. This mid-court reshuffle strengthened St Nicholas' attack even further. St Nicholas’ defence rebounded especially well towards the end also. At the beginning of the third quarter, Sacred Hearts shoot Tina Jones suffered an ankle injury but recovered to play on regardless. St Nicholas E 51, Cashmere 45 Although leading at every quarter of this match it was by no means an easy win for St Nicholas. It led by only two slim goals at half-time and had to muster up all its defences to keep its hold. The young Cashmere side combined well on the day, its attack being a positive feature. The goal-attack, Judith Armstrong, the wing-at-tack, Paula Kay, and the centre, Diana Leslie, all had a good understanding in midcourt, especially in the first half. However, St Nicholas put on a creditable display in the third quarter, increasing its lead from two to nine goals. This was a result of its steady, safe passing and ability to drive the ball down the court with conviction. Biddy van der Kroon and Judy Pani in the circle, proved too daunting for Cashmere’s defence. South Brighton 39, Technical 34 This match also had its close stages, especially at half-time, when the scores were locked at 15-15. A strong feature of South Brighton’s win was its ability to keep the passing low in the strong wind. The energetic Kim Lischner at centre and the wing-attack, Rachel Bradley, played intelligently, slowly but surely moving the ball down the court and freeingg themselves well to take the pass. Technical had its chances to take the lead on several occasions, but there were a few loose passes at vital stages. Gay Johns a goal-defence and Jenny Davis at goal-keep did well to prevent several of South Brighton’s goals from finding the net in the second quarter, and leapt high to the rebounds.

However, South Brighton’s shooting improved after halftime, to such an extent that Jane Blay and Mary Setu scored a goal each time the ball was in their circle in the third quarter.