Joint win in trophy

Press, 14 August 1989, Page 22

Joint win in trophy

By Special Correspondent A spirited and lively Otago representative netball team gave Canterbury a run for its money when the two became joint holders of the Skellerup Netball Trophy at Timaru on Saturday. The Mount Cook Districts Union team hosted Canterbury, Otago and Southland for the annual Skellerup Trophy fixture.

The trophy originated in 1967, and is contested between the top four representative teams in the South Island.

Canterbury has won the trophy 20 out of 22 attempts, with Otago working hard to take the trophy twice. The competition, which was played in a round robin format, saw the powerful Canterbury side, along with Otago, win all three games. Mount Cook Districts lost all three games, with Southland winning only its final encounters against the host union. The New Zealand goal shoot April leremia gave an

energetic performance against Southland, scoring vital goals, which gave Canterbury a 33-28 victory after at one stage trailing by four goals. The 21-year-old was also in excellent touch during the tight cliffhanger against Otago, which resulted in a 37all draw, and the sharing of the trophy. Only one or two goals separated the South Island’s two top teams throughout the game.

Canterbury’s pressure slackened at regular intervals, allowing the energetic Otago combination to notch up extra goals, which in the end proved vital. The Canterbury team, blessed with two New Zealand representative players, hammered out an embarrassing 56-18 defeat to Mount Cook.

Canterbury came out after a near loss against Southland to drive hard and show welldeveloped netball skills. leremia slotted 26 of her 28

shots at goal attack, while goal shoot Liz Kazmeirczak turned on a top class shooting display to net 36 out of her 44 goal attempts. The Mount Cook coach, Georgina Salter, said her team’s personal skills fell away, resulting in forced, hesitant passes which let Canterbury capitalise. Forced ball and a lack of variety for the Mount Cook shooters gave Otago a 44-28 victory after a great team effort.

The Otago coach, Lea Sycamore, said she expected the team to win because the young players had improved remarkably and would continue to do so.

Sycamore was proved correct when Otago took a 39-36 victory over Southland. The game fluctuated, however, with inconsistent scores but a great team effort from both sides.

Southland’s only victory arose when they thrashed Mount Cook 60-16