Technical coach Andrea Cousins is not ready to throw in the towel despite a display from rivals Kereru which has left her side a significant challenge to win club netball’s premier spoils.

The final week of the championship round produced a stand-out performance from Kereru who put one hand on the Christchurch Netball Centre premier crown with a 62-49 win over Technical at the Bishopdale YMCA on Tuesday night.

They earn a place in the August 30 grand final while Technical must now play Lincoln University, who had a narrow 45-44 win over St Nicholas, in next week’s semi-final.  Saints notched up their first win on the premier league with a 57-49 win over Halswell to avoid relegation.

But it was Kereru, whom Cousins described as “magicians”, who have lifted the bar yet again with just two weeks in the season remaining.

“I don’t think we ever looked like dominating,” Cousins said.  “They completely and utterly denied us playing our style of game.  I must admit I’m very impressed in how they completely shut us down.”

She was blunt in her assessment of the performance with some admiration in the way Kereru executed their game plan.

“They took away our speed of the ball, took away our prep to get free to space and they had our short options covered.  That’s it in a nutshell,” Cousins said. 

But she said she had a “resilient bunch” who will have little trouble taking a “long hard look at our own play” before backing up with a must win match against Lincoln University.

“I think that’s just the sort of game we need to absorb,” Cousins said.  “We can’t have them pushing us around and making us cough up our entire game style.  But they did and hats off to them.  They forced us into playing a game we didn’t want to – they were magicians.”

Kereru set the platform in the first 15 minutes as they netted 20 goals and restricted Technical to 12 in a tough defensive play which was sustained through all four quarters.

It was an easy path to the shooting circle where both Erin McDuff and Julianna Naoupu impressed while the defensive efforts of Kayla Williams shut Technical play-maker Tiana Placid out of the game.  Williams partner Courtney Thompson, who stepped up in the absence of Silver Fern trialist Jane Watson, proved the perfect foil in the defensive circle and picked off plenty of ball for Kereru.

Technical won the second spell and challenged in the third but fell off the pace again in the last stanza as they look ahead to the semi-final where they meet the defending champions.

Lincoln University emerged one-goal winners in a thrilling match against St Nicholas to keep their season alive.  They led at the first two breaks but St Nicholas turned the tables in the third spell which they dominated 18-7 to go into the deciding quarter with a two-goal lead.

The injection of defender Kate Lloyd into the university line-up for the fourth stanza proved effective as she picked up a number of deflections and rebounds, while the experienced head of mid-courter Hayley Saunders was decisive in the dying minutes as Lincoln University denied their opponents the ball and a chance to level the scores.

Meanwhile, Saints netted their first premier win of the season with a dominating fourth quarter spell to beat Halswell 57-49 and avoid relegation to premier 2.

Shooter Alice Eddington stood out for the victors missing just one of her 41 attempts at goal while the through-court defensive efforts in the final quarter gave Saints the edge in what had been tight match early on.

Results:

Kereru 62 (Erin McDuff GS 39/46, Julianna Naoupu GA 23/28) beat Technical 49 (Chelsea Bremner GS 23/27, Tiana Placid GA 26/31).  Quarter scores:  20-12, 32-26, 46-38, 62-49.

Lincoln University 45 (Natalie Allen GS 13/21, Bella James GA 32/36) beat St Nicholas 44 (Lauren Robb GS1 8/11, Sarah Boomer GA1 10/12, Boomer GS2 18/19, Caitlin Dowden GA2 8/10).  Quarter scores:  13-10, 27-18, 34-36, 45-44.

Saints 57 (Alice Eddington GS 40/41, Taylor Rosie-Forrester GA 17/23) beat Halswell 49 (Jess Taylor GS 21/28, Nicole Meikle GA 28/32).  Quarter scores:  14-15, 27-27, 40-41, 57-49.