Whanganui netball: Defending champs make winning start to premier season

NZ Herald

12-05-2025

Georgina Nauga stood out, with composure and accuracy under the post.
Coaches were thrilled to welcome back De-Ann Tyrell, Kelera Kuruyabaki and Sarah Taki-Clarke – three talented mums returning after a season off.
Their experience, poise and leadership are a welcome addition back into the squad.
'Kaiwhaiki showed experience, we showed newness, but it was good just to get the cobwebs off,' Collegiate spokesperson Elise Niu said.
The young Collegiate team showed great promise on the court.
Newcomer Sophie Bagrie made a solid debut, contributing positively.
Kaiwhaiki took the win 51-29.
The first Premier 2 game of the season was St Johns Club Tech A1 against Kaierau Gemini Pepper Construction A3.
The first quarter was relatively even, with the Tech side taking the lead by nine at halftime.
Kaierau Coaches Connie Hadfield and Carmen Karipa were pleased with their team's first outing, showing great teamwork, led strongly by Kiti Tumanko.
With many new players and first outings at Premier level, the team are feeling positive about the season. Tech took the game 51-29.
Second up in Premier 1 saw last year's champions Kaierau Mitre 10 Mega A1 play Phillips Electrical Whanganui High School A1.
With captain Nevaeh Blake away for New Zealand Touch this week, new High School player Mischa Petley worked tirelessly at centre, combining well with WA Annabelle Brown, also a newcomer to the team.
Coach Lisa Murphy was pleased with how well her team gelled.
'They grew each quarter as a team, which was nice to watch'.
Shooters Ruby Bullock and Ella Campbell worked the circle nicely, with defensive trio Mae Emmett, Isla Jones and Elicia Thompson providing some nice turnover ball.
The Kaierau side, with only two players from last year's squad and a new management team, is focusing on solidifying combinations and communication.
With plenty of takeaways from the game, both teams are very satisfied with their first outing. Kaireau took the game 34-29.
The next Premier 2 game was Kaierau Air Whanganui A2 against Mt View Marist A2.
Marist A2 had a great first half, going goal for goal against the Kaierau side.
Momentum was lost in the third quarter, with the experienced Kaierau side capitalising and taking the win 44-24.
Marist's Aaliyah Grant in WD played a fantastic first game, while Lucy Somerville in GK showed some exceptional intercepting.
While it was a loss for the team, they were happy with their performance.
The Kaierau side took a bit for the dust to blow off their shoes, but some consistent, accurate passing and feeding to the shooters from Georgia Bronwal and Hailey Sinkinson in the third quarter saw the scoreline grow.
The last Premier 1 game for the opening evening was a close match between Marist Mint A1 and HP Pirates A1.
The Pirates side came out firing, taking the lead 24-14 by halftime, giving the very new-look Marist side a quick introduction to Premier level netball.
With only three players from last season, the goal for Marist was to get everyone on court, shake off the nerves and get a feel for what is in store for them for the season.
With some great defensive work from Kayana Tahana-Hopkins and Zeah Brewer, the Marist side were very pleased to peg back the score from a 17-goal deficit after three quarters to narrow that gap to 35-32 at the final whistle.
Pirates were happy with a very solid start, with a new shooting combination of Shontaye Walker and Cheyann McDougall gelling nicely.
Tuahine Hadfield and Brigitte Taiaroa fed some beautiful ball into them, with relentless through court defence.
The last Premier 2 game of the evening saw newcomers Waimarino, who were promoted into the grade after last season's win in the Premier 3 grade, play last season's Premier 2 winners Kaiwhaiki A2.
The new team showed a promising start to the season.
Young 16-year-old Atahu Bishop paired up well in the circle with Deli Taylor.
Another youngster, Paetyn Brown also stepped up in at WD, bringing ball strongly through court.
Nerves, new surroundings and the big move from Saturday netball were all overcome, and the Waimarino took the win by a slim margin, 33-32.
Results of the evening's games show we are in for an exciting season, so get your winter woollies on and come down to the stadium on a Monday night, and see our top netballers in action.