Overcoming a slow start, the Northern Marvels have consolidated their spot on the Synergy Hair Netball League ladder with a hard-fought win over Central Manawa.
Trailing by as many as six goals early on, the Marvels came from behind in a tense battle at The Trusts Arena in Auckland and their 55-50 victory sees them join the Comets on the same points at the top of the table.
Marvels captain and match MVP, Dani Binks, said she was proud of their performance but still had plenty to work on looking ahead to the remainder of the competition.
“Our defence are doing a really good job of getting ball for us and we just need to make sure that we put those through the hoop,” she said.
Binks was a standout in the shooting circle with both her ability to net the crucial goals as well as a shooter-to-shooter connections. She also played a cameo out at wing attack.
“It’s definitely a switch-up,” she said of the change of attacking roles, “but I’m loving the change of movement in the wing attack position.”
Manawa captain Kiana Pelasio said they were still searching for consistency throughout the 60 minutes and would need to put a bit “more love on the ball” before they played again.
“We need to make sure we don’t have those patches of ups and downs – hopefully we can just stay consistent.”
With only one point separating the two teams on the league ladder – the Marvels ahead of Manawa - a tight tussle was expected, and the teams delivered.
Both sides brought plenty of energy in a high intensity opening few minutes of play, but it was Manawa which forced the early turnovers and they raced to a 3-0 advantage.
The relentless defensive pressure – from Manawa’s midcourt and defensive trio – caused plenty of problems for the hosts as they struggled to get clean ball into the shooting circle.
The Marvels’ opening goal came five minutes into the game but the grind into the circle continued as they were forced to work hard for every pass made.
It prompted Marvels coach Ripeka Pirie to go to her bench mid-way through the spell, injecting Auteletoa Tanimo into the game – the shooter making an immediate impact as a strong target in the circle.
Manawa took time to adjust, and their commanding lead was cut to 15-13 by the first break.
They made one change to their line in the second stanza with Caitlin Lafaele coming on at goal keeper and Madison Thomas moving forward to goal defence.
Captain Kiana Pelasio maintained her spot in the unfamiliar centre role for Manawa, making strong second phase drives and was a settling influence up front.
The Marvels defensive duo of Leila Atkins and Charlotte Manley kept Manawa’s shooters honest in the second quarter forcing the visitors to wait patiently for space to open.
Both teams struggled to find the rhythm of the first quarter however with a messy period of play, Manawa again going to their bench with Pelasio leaving mid-way through the spell to be replaced by Latonya Lole.
It wasn’t long before Pelasio returned to the court, replacing Charlotte Guiney at goal attack as the Marvels levelled the scores 23-23 with just over five minutes in the half to play.
Marvels captain Dani Binks, who has spent much of the week in the MG Mystics camp for the Premiership, played an influential role throughout the game, helping her side to get back into the contest, the scores locked 27-27 at halftime.
The arm-wrestle continued well into the third quarter as the defensive efforts at both ends lifted in a quality battle.
Manawa edged ahead late in the spell but their growing hesitancy of ball release on attack opened the door for the Marvels who again made a shift in momentum and went into the last turn with a narrow 43-42 lead.