Central Manawa have made a strong statement in the Synergy Hair Netball League with a convincing win over the defending champion Northern Marvels.
In their second win in as many weeks, Manawa produced a dominant all-round display for a 59-38 victory over the Marvels at the Trusts Arena in Auckland on Sunday.
Captain Renee Matoe said they were pleased to be out on court again this week and the team was beginning to “feel good” with the performances they were producing.
“Overall, it was a collective team effort so I’m really happy with that,” she said.
“What we focussed on was our third quarter momentum – we realised we didn’t have that last week and we really wanted to build in that second half.
“We’re all about the basics and doing them well, doing it with pace and looking after the ball which I think we saw that today.”
Manawa were again strong at either ends of the court, thanks to the work of Amelia Walmsley and Parris Mason, but it was the work of midcourter and Ainsleyana Puleiata, with 32 feeds into the circle, 18 goal assists and two intercepts, who ensured a strong link through the middle with an MVP performance.
The visitors raced out to a 3-0 advantage as the defensive pressure, with every ball contested by Manawa, forcing the Marvels into early errors.
The defending champions, who have been impacted by Covid and only had their first full team training last week, struggled to find their timing up front while defenders Jessie Taylor and Catherine Hall worked tirelessly to shut down Walmsley.
Marvels coach Natalie Milicich called for more defensive work from all players on court as her side entered the second quarter, trailing 8-14.
She made just one change to personnel on court with Jessica Milicich coming on to centre and Rebekah Roache moving from the middle to wing defence, while in-circle defenders Taylor and Hall also swapped bibs.
There were no changes from Manawa who extended their advantage early in the spell with Renee Matoe and Grace Namana leading the way in assists to Walmsley.
Trailing by 10, Marvels goal defence, Taylor left the court, with Roache moving into the circle and Kenza Taele returning to the wing.
The defensive changes worked well for the hosts as they applied more pressure outside the circle allowing Hall to hunt for ball. An intercept from wing attack Braxton TeRiini allowed the Marvels to close the gap to 21-28 by halftime, with the side looking more settled on attack.
Manawa welcomed Matoe back onto the court in the third quarter, the attacker heading into the shooting circle to team up with Walmsley.
But the Marvels continued to chip away at the lead, showing greater patience on attack and waiting for the opportunity to open up in the shooting circle and Christie Anderson converting.
The visitors’ ability to score quickly however allowed Manawa to re-establish a 43-30 three-quarter lead as they tightened the screws in all areas.
Meanwhile, in other Synergy Hair Netball League matches, Mainland netted a third straight win with a 58-39 victory over Waikato-BOP at Mainpower Stadium in Rangiora, and the Southern Blast came from behind to beat the Comets 45-43 at ILT Stadium Southland in Invercargill.