Gibbs gets preview of main rivals

Press, 21 August 1989, Page 27

Gibbs gets preview of main rivals

By

DIANNA LESLIE

As the countdown for the New Zealand netball tournament continues, Leigh Gibbs, the Canterbury coach, got a sneak preview of two of the province’s main rivals, Wellington and North Harbour, at the Hagley courts yesterday. In a veritable feast of representative matches Mrs Gibbs had the opportunity to test different combinations as she tried to finalise her options before the team leaves at the week-end.

Canterbury beat North Harbour, 54-45, in its first tussle but was outshot by an impressive Wellington performance, 44-38, later in the afternoon. Canterbury lost some of its composure against the pacey Wellington play, and the shooting statistics revealed that the Canterbury shooters had four more opportunities to score than the black and yellows, who were ruled by the iron hand of the New Zealand captain and goal defence, Wai Taumaunu. Canterbury had 23 more attempts at goal than North Harbour. Canterbury was held together by an outstanding defence line-up and while Mrs Gibbs was reasonably satisfied with her attacking options, she confirmed that there was still work to do. “I felt that we had the possession but we got impatient and rushed it rather than choosing the simple options,” she said. “We need the

wisdom to know when to let it go.”

"But I was quite happy with the shooters although there still needs to be some finishing off if we are going to be effective,” she said. Wellington took third place at the nationals last year when it beat Canterbury, 5040, and-Mrs Gibbs has no illusions about its potential.

"Wellington are going to be hard. We need to be mentally tougher to cope with the physical marking.”

Taumaunu was a demanding captain as she barked out orders in a no-nonsense manner and directed play constantly. “Wai will be a big influence. She will be an important key, but sometimes she does expose looseness that I hope we can work on,” said Mrs Gibbs.

Taunaunu is still expecting improvement from her side.

“We have had a few hiccups, but we are getting our act together,” she said. “We are lucky in that we have three good shooters and the mid-court is coming to grips with its combination and our defence is working well — so we have several options.” Canterbury could thank its brilliant defence for keeping it in touch with Wellington, as Sharon Burridge (goal keep), Annette Heffernan (wing defence and goal defence) and Karen Burrows (goal defence) were devastating. Hef-

fernan, in particular, was constantly active in midcourt, blazing through to snatch possession and smothering the Wellington moves.

Mrs Gibbs varied April leremia, Anna Pilbrow and Lee McKenzie in the shooting postions. leremia played at goal attack against North Harbour and moved back to goal shoot for the start of the Wellington encounter. Pilbrow played at goal shoot against North Harbour and netted 63 per cent of her attempts. leremia put 70 per cent of her attempts safely through the goal in that match.

McKenzie played at goal attack against Wellington and showed promise.

North' Harbour has had to cope with some late withdrawals of Maxine Shortland, a young international player, and Jacqui McCullock. Gael Robinson, its lanky goal defence, has also been unwell — suffering from severe migraine headaches — but she was in good form yesterday. Canterbury did not assert itself until the third quarter against North Harbour and trailed at the quarter-time breaks by one goal. It finally took over to lead, 38-35, but was not conclusive until the final 15 minutes when it truly showed what it was capable of.

Wellington beat North Harbour conclusively, 54-33, in the mid-afternoon.