Naenae Collegians storm home to sixth Hutt Valley premier netball title
BY YVONNE AIREY
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Hutt News
After achieving the best ever result for a Hutt Valley team at regional level, Naenae Collegians United White capped their stellar year by winning the Hutt Valley Premier One title on Saturday.
They get to engrave their name on the Jubilee Cup for the sixth year in a row.
In a much-anticipated match-up between Naenae, regional runners-up, and the other form team for 2010, Rimutaka Rugby, who finished in sixth place in the regionals, Naenae survived a tight first half to forge ahead in the latter part of the game and win by the comfortable margin of 61-40.
Rimutaka started strongly and kept Naenae to a three goal lead at the end of the first quarter, with Kim Bingham shooting well for the Upper Hutt side until injury forced her off three minutes before the end of the second.
Naenae led 32-21 at half-time, then an injury in the third to tireless defender Victoria Roper saw another key player leave the court.
However her replacement, Hutt Valley High School student Kimberly Goodearl, stepped up to the mark while at the other end of the court the young Kelsey Albrechtsen was in top form at goal shoot. With youngsters like these in the wings, Naenae's future looks assured.
But the stand out performance of the day had to go to Naenae's Alicia Colledge at goal attack, who impressed throughout with her unerring accuracy under pressure, along with maintaining a huge workload around the court in the goal attack position.
Naenae White also won the Baldwin Cup for the Premier One best goal average for the season and the Bubbles Cup, presented to the team with the highest goal average (49.36).
As runners-up, Rimutaka took home the Andrews Shield for the summer.
Naenae Collegians United Three won the curtain-raiser on Saturday, the round two final against Ulalei for the Betteridge Cup.
Again it was a youthful player, Sacred Heart College pupil Aleisha Moen, who impressed in the goal for Naenae, while Ulalei played their hearts out in their first big finals match in their first taste of top grade netball. Naenae won the match 58-46 after leading 30-24 at half time.
It's been a great year for Ulalei Wainuiomata Netball overall, with the club, founded in 2004, winning the Pewharirangi Shield for the best points aggregate (13.50), ahead of Rimutaka Rugby (13.16).
Ulalei's Renee Olsen also received the 2010 Volunteer of the year award.
A founding member, she played for the club from 2004-09 and was a manager from 2005-09.
She has carried out the three roles of player, manager and club secretary.
Olsen leads all the club fundraising activities and arguably the one she is best known for is her Sale of Meals, where she opened her home each year to cook, make up and distribute meals.
In the Premier One round two bottom four play off, Petone Rugby League beat Taita Two 29-27 in an exciting Friday night match. Petone led 9-5 at the end of the first quarter; Taita came back to draw 13-all at half time; Petone had their nose ahead 24-20 at the end of the third and managed to hold on to win by two goals.
Petone is one of the successes of the round two competition, an example of a team who have stepped up to the fitness and discipline demanded of the longer 15-minute format to produce increasingly competitive netball in the top grade.
A complete performance by Fergusson Intermediate's goal attack Bianca van Dyk helped her team to a 40-24 win over Hutt Intermediate A in the clash of the top Intermediates for the McDonalds Cup. Fergusson led 20-15 at half-time and never looked troubled throughout the match.
Netball Hutt Valley centre manager Phillipa Whitney says the centre was thrilled with the huge turnout of parents to the junior prize giving. The Walter Nash Stadium was packed for the Primary Prizegiving on the Friday night and again on Saturday morning for the Intermediate wind-up.
"It is so great to see so many interested parents and family supporting the number one women's sport and we look forward to being able to host even larger numbers and organise more opportunities for our up-and-coming young players when the proposed upgrade of the Walter Nash Stadium is completed," she says.
- Hutt News
