Providing a grandstand finish to the event, Auckland pipped Waitākere 45-44 to win a thrilling overtime final at the Netball New Zealand U18 Champs at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin on Thursday.
Needing extra-time to decide the winner, the match had everything you could ask for in a final with no more than three goals separating the cross-town rivals before the pair finished all-square at 40-all at the end of regular time in the 40-minute match.
"Both teams had a sending off, there were warnings and there were lots of substitutions, so everything you needed in a final, it had it in this match,’’ Netball NZ Emerging Talent Panel selector Debbie Tasi-Cordtz said. ``It was a fantastic match.’’
It is the second time Auckland have had their name etched on the Margaret Forsyth Cup, named in memory of the former Silver Ferns great, after being the inaugural winners in 2021.
The Rachel Rasmussen-coached Auckland team ended the stalemate by scoring the winning goal in the nick of time when the buzzer sounded at the conclusion of the two periods of three minutes of extra-time. It had been 42-all after the first period of extra-time.
Changing and rotating players was key throughout the tense and tight match, none proving more valuable than Auckland’s versatile Lillian Henare-Vaihu, who started at centre before moving to goal defence while being an energetic contributor across the court.
"Having the tournament inside has been a godsend because it has just allowed them to play netball rather than play to the conditions,’’ Tasi-Cordtz said.
"So, to be able to see our top netballers indoors for four days in a tournament like this with scores like we had in the final reflecting that, it just shows how good it was.
"Everyone looked really conditioned and it was a very positive tournament. I think we’re in good hands with netball in New Zealand if that’s the calibre of players coming through. You wouldn’t believe some of them are under-18, so it’s pretty pleasing.’’
In the morning’s semi-finals Auckland produced a dominant 44-21 win over last year’s champions Wellington Black while Waitākere 1 advanced to the final after a hard-fought 35-28 win over Howick Pakuranga.
Wellington Black secured a third-place finish with a 37-31 win over Howick Pakuranga while Dunedin grabbed fifth place after edging past North Harbour 26-22.
With a men’s division introduced for the first time, last year, defending champions Waitākere backed up their inaugural win with a second straight title after outplaying Dannevirke 44-21 in the final. Waitākere were a cut above the rest of the field after going through the U18 men’s draw unbeaten.
Tauranga clinched third place after edging Dunedin 41-40 in a thriller.