Mainland have finished their campaign in style with victory over one of the Synergy Hair Netball League grand finalists.
With nothing to lose, Mainland accounted for five-time champions Central Manawa 58-52 at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch on Sunday, in what was the last game of the league’s regular season.
Coach Geni Ah Tong was pleased her team could get up for their last game of the season and was left wondering what might have been after their recent results.
“I’d love for the season to have a few more games for us. I think we’d definitely be challenging for a top two spot,” she said.
Ah Tong said connections had started to “click” but it had taken some “honest conversations” midway through their campaign to turn things around.
“We’ve just connected the last few weeks and it’s all just come together. We just ran out of time.
“It was so good to see a full team effort out there today, it wasn’t just a single person, and we could bring players on who did their job against a tough opponent.
“Seeing some girls come out of their shell has been great to see over the last few weeks.”
Only a big loss would have denied Manawa the chance to play for a sixth national netball league title – featuring in all but one of Grand Finals since the league’s inception in 2016 – and they will now meet the Comets in next week’s decider.
In contrast, Mainland were out of contention for a finals spot but keen to end their campaign strongly having upset the form book against higher ranked teams in the last two rounds.
The hosts’ intent was clear from the start, the target of Olivia Dijkstra in the shooting circle proving key for Mainland in the opening spell, her strong hold an easy find for the feeders.
At the other end of the court, experienced shooter Grace McLean was also a proven playmaker for the defending champions.
But the full court defensive pressure from the hosts forced early turnovers as they built a four-goal buffer.
The battle between Mainland wing attack Vika Koloto and Manawa defender Rachel Price promised plenty from the opening whistles as they jostled for position and possession.
Manawa struggled to find their flow on attack, but the sharp shooting of McLean kept the visitors in touch, trailing 13-17 at the first break.
With the finals spot on the line, Manawa re-entered the game with purpose with Madison Thomas shutting down the option into Dijkstra.
Mainland coach Geni Ah Tong went to her bench to stem a string of Manawa second quarter goals with Tactix goal attack Jess Allan injected into the shooting circle.
Momentum shifts continued throughout the spell, reflected in the deadlock on the scoreboard with five minutes left in the half.
Four goals to Dijkstra in the last two minutes of play gave Mainland the edge, leading 31-30 at the main break.
It was a similar storyline for the third quarter with neither team giving an inch no matter which personnel filled the bibs.
Mainland defender Julia Wynands was at her best with six gains in the first three quarters of the match, as the continuous defensive pressure from the hosts wore down Manawa breaking the deadlock on the board to go into the last turn with a 49-40 lead.