Tu Toa named Maori team of the year

Tu Toa's national championship-winning netball team capped off an outstanding year by being named team of the year at the Maori sports awards in Manukau City at the weekend.

The Palmerston North team won the national secondary schools netball title when they beat Mt Albert Grammar School 34-33 at the finals tournament in Timaru in October.

During the season they finished second in the Manawatu Standard Premier Cup, first in the Manawatu schools competition and won the Lower North Island secondary schools crown.

Tu Toa co-captain Sheridan Bignall was in the New Zealand secondary schools team and captained the side to victory in the trans-Tasman schools tournament in Auckland in June.

Whitney Cassidy and Rhiarna Ferris played for Aotearoa Maori, while shooter Brooke Leaver played for Team Pasifika in the same tournament.

Teacher and coach Yvette McCausland-Durie was runner-up to Kiwis rugby league coach Stephen Kearney in the coach-of-the-year category at the Maori sports awards.

McCausland-Durie had a challenging year balancing her commitments between coaching Tu Toa and the Central Pulse in the ANZ Championship.

Colleen Trembath assisted McCausland-Durie with Tu Toa and looked after the team when McCausland-Durie was not available.

- © Fairfax NZ News