Four North Island teams, with three being from the wider Auckland area, will contest the semi-finals of the Netball NZ U18 Champs following two rounds of post-pool play at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin on Wednesday.
The semi-finals will be played tomorrow (Thursday) morning ahead of the 2.10pm final with Wellington Black and Auckland squaring off first after posting wins over Eastern Waikato and Dunedin, respectively. That also ended the hopes of a South Island team being involved at the business end.
Howick Pakuranga got the better of Hamilton City and will meet Waitākere 1, who despatched North Harbour, in the second semi-final.
"The standard of play has been amazing and I think tomorrow’s semi-finals are going to be good battles,’’ New Zealand Secondary Schools (NZSS) assistant coach Jo Morrison said.
"It’s been pretty intense and we’ve seen some real physical battles out on court but there’s also been some lovely skills. And I have to say, in the men’s division there have been some amazing skills and fantastic games to watch.’’
With teams having a mix of school players and those who have just left college, Morrison has enjoyed being able to get a gauge on those who are still in the frame for NZSS squad selection.
"It’s been really good just to track those players who have been identified from the national development camp and invited player’s camp to see how they’re going along in a different environment,’’ she said.
"It’s quite a short campaign for these players and they’re engaging with a different group, so it’s not the same as their school team and is a good challenge for some of them.’’
These players will go on to play in their regional secondary school tournaments in September before the next NZSS squad is selected.
Morrison has also been pleased with the game management side of things and how the teams involved in Dunedin have coped with a hectic and intense schedule of two games a day.
"It has shown just how important it is to have that depth on the bench,’’ she said. "Coaches have been managing that load really, really well and teams have been using the (new) interchange rule well.
"And that’s a new thing for some of these coaches, so from my point of view, the ones that have managed that load, will be the ones that are probably a bit fresher tomorrow and are really able to compete.
"It is a big few days for some of these girls, who may not be used to the physicality, but also having a couple of games a day, so it’s been a good challenge for the coaches, as well.’’
Starting the day with the morning’s Cup Round of 16, wins for Wellington Black, Eastern Waikato, Auckland, Dunedin, Hamilton City, Howick Pakuranga, Waitākere 1 and North Harbour advanced those teams into the quarter-finals.
After winning last year’s inaugural men’s division, Waitākere have plotted a similar course in this year’s U18 event.
Completing this morning’s round robin play unbeaten after five straight wins, Waitākere then polished off Tauranga 41-23 in the first of the afternoon’s semi-finals. They will meet Dannevirke in tomorrow’s final after they pipped Dunedin 33-29 in their semi-final.
The men’s final will be played at 1.05pm.