Counties Manukau and Hamilton City will contest the Grand Final after winning the honours in closely-fought semi-finals at the NetballSmart Netball NZ Open Champs in Auckland on Friday.
The pair, who finished third and fourth, respectively, in last year’s edition now get their opportunity to etch their name on the New Zealand Cup after keeping their unbeaten runs intact.
In the first semi-final, Hamilton City ended Auckland’s bid for a second straight title with an exciting 50-47 win, the match hanging in the balance from start to finish. On the other side, Counties Manukau held the upper hand throughout in their clash with Cambridge but were required to fend off a late charge before clinching a 51-47 win.
After an even start, three straight goals gave Counties Manukau the early buffer and a 12-10 first quarter lead.
Comets team-mates in the Synergy Hair Netball League, shooting duo Jaelin Tulikaki and Maine-Crystal Maro shared the load expertly early on before Tulikaki made her presence felt through the middle quarters to put Counties Manukau in the driver’s seat.
During these quarters, Tulikaki, who finished with a perfect record of 38 from 38, was a strong presence under the hoop on the back of quality attacking play from Maro and Tori Kolose when stretching their lead to 25-21 at halftime and 39-31 at the last break.
At the other end, Counties Manukaui had prominent t figures in the form of Greer Sinclair and Khanye-Lii Munro-Nonoa on defence as Cambridge struggled for a greater share of the possession and consistent scoring.
With some firepower of their own in the form of midcourter Sam Winders and shooter Monica Falker, Cambridge threw everything into the last quarter with a gallant late charge. Delivering their best quarter of the match and out-scoring Counties Manukau 16-12 in the end proved too little too late.
In the earlier semi-final with two impressive line-ups bidding for a spot in the grand final, there was never more than three goals separating the teams, the Te Aroha Keenan-coached Hamilton City delivering a strong second half to get the job done.
Both sides boasted ANZ Premiership shooting ends with the Hamilton City pairing of Kate Taylor and Ivana Rowland holding the edge on their rivals, Rahni Samason and Jamie Hume at the other end. With the long-limed Oceane Maihi in the unfamiliar position of wing defence and Holly Fowler on the opposite wing, Hamilton City also had plenty of clout at the defence end.
Both goal shoots were prominent in the early exchanges, Auckland opening proceedings with the first four goals of the match, a strong response from Hamilton City setting the tone for the rest of the game where the combatants went toe-to-toe.
The first quarter ended in a 12-all stalemate which carried over into the second stanza where neither side could wrest the initiative. Auckland held the slightest of edges to forge a three-goal lead, Rowland chiming in with some clutch goals to leave Hamilton City training by just one, 25-24 at halftime.
Scoring the first four goals to open the third quarter, Auckland looked set to take off but Hamilton City were far from done, scoring the next three to keep things tight. More ball and great shooting accuracy helped Hamilton City take the lead for the first time midway through which they held to shade Auckland 40-38 heading into the last turn.
Ably supported by a willing ally in Rowland, Taylor was key under the Hamilton City hoop, driving her team’s scoring ability when converting 39 goals from 41 attempts, while the defensive end limited Auckland’s attacking opportunities in the run home.
In the morning’s quarter-finals, Auckland, Hamilton City, Counties Manukau and Cambridge all delivered clear-cut wins to advance to the semi-finals.
Both South Island teams were knocked out of the race to remain in contention for the New Zealand Cup, Dunedin succumbing 56-43 to Auckland while Christchurch were on the backfoot when losing 53-42 to Cambridge.
Hamilton City recorded a handsome 48-35 win over Tauranga while Counties Manukau prevailed 48-39 over North Harbour.