Auckland Defeat Christchurch 36-30 To Win 2023 Netball NZ Open Champs Title

Auckland etched their name on the New Zealand Cup for 2023 after beating Christchurch Red 36-30 in the final of the NetballSmart Netball NZ Open Champs in Dunedin on Saturday.

Lining up for the 66th match of the hectic five-day tournament, there was nothing to separate the two finalists in a free-scoring opening quarter with all shooters on-song to subsequently leave the teams locked at 10-all at the first break.

Auckland made their move to loosen the impasse with a game-changing second quarter, snapping the stalemate to grab a three-goal lead and with it the impetus for the rest of the match.

Captain Samon Nathan was a towering presence in the midcourt for Auckland, dictating play from centre while dominating the feeding to her shooters Jamie Hume and Lavina Lavea, who had their radars attuned throughout with returns of 22 from 25 and 14 from 15 respectively for the match.

Goal attack Hume and her Christchurch Red opposite Vika Koloto were influentials figures through their roles as play-makers and scorers but the southerners lacked the same accuracy across the court as their rivals.

After a low-scoring second spell, Auckland took an 18-15 lead into the main break.

Latching onto a wobbly opening to the third stanza by Christchurch Red, Hume and Lavea made the most of their extra opportunities to help Auckland forge a healthy seven-goal lead. Christchurch Red were quick to respond with four straight goals of their own but Auckland had dome enough to keep their noses in front 26-22 at the last turn.

Auckland retained their same starting seven for the duration while Christchurch Red injected fresh legs in the form of Taiana Day at wing attack, for Ashleigh Poi, in a last throw of the dice in the run home.

A 6-1 start and with it a nine-goal lead handed all the momentum to Auckland as the opportunities dried up for Christchurch Red. A late rally where they scored six in a row and moved back to within three, gave Christchurch Red a flicker of hope in the dying minutes but Auckland had done enough to keep them at arm’s length.

Counties Manukau Cluster produced a storming finish to run down Hamilton City 40-39 with 10 seconds remaining on the clock to seal third place.

Strong first and final quarters helped Counties Manukau get over the line in a tense and exciting tussle after Hamilton City looked to have turned the tables during the middle stages.

Counties Manukau led 12-8 at the first break before a dominant Hamilton City took charge in the second stanza to swing a change in fortunes and holding the upper hand when leading 21-18 at the main break.

A drawn third quarter still left Counties Manukau three points adrift and strong defensive rebounding from Hamilton City pair Oceane Maihi and Georgia Takarangi gave their team breathing space.

But with a final surge and levelling up with just over three minutes to go, Counties Manukau prevailed in the goal-for-goal stand-off with the clincher in the dying seconds.

Eseta Autagavaia, who moved around both shooting positions for Counties Manukau, was a key performer and provided the steadying influence with 22 from 26 shots, while Kate Taylor was the rock under the Hamilton City hoop with 30 from 31.

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