Nelson Men rise to the test

The FCL Nelson Men were given more of a test than they would have liked from Prices Waimea Pango, despite a 64-39 win.

In other results from Thursday night's premier grade netball, Jacks OPD continued their dominant form with a 74-38 win over Nelson Girls College Senior A and F45 Richmond upset Prices Waimea Ahurei with a 61-58  win.

While the scoreline would indicate a convincing performance for the Nelson Men, Prices Waimea Pango walked away with their heads held high after giving their opponents some real anxiety.

They were able to keep pace on the scoreboard through the first 10 minutes of play, only to let it slip in the final five minutes of the first quarter to be down 16-8 as the impact of the sniper levels of accuracy from outside the two-point line from GA Luke Richardson.

Trailing on the scoreboard didn't deter the club's second-strong team, as they came out in the second quarter and played as they started off by keeping pace through the first 10 minutes again, scoring eight points each before the men ran away again to lead 31-14 at the half.

The third quarter was Pango's best, as they were only outscored by three points through the whole 15 minutes, with GS Aimee Burkett lighting up from deep for the two-pointers.

The underdogs were hungry; on defence, they snapped up a lot of loose ball and forced turnovers, while on attack, they came with a plan that paid dividends in spades.

While the men had the two tallest players on the court in their defensive circle, the Pango team made use of the size discrepancy by playing around their shoelaces and found good inroads to the net.

Pango coach Sarah Rankin says the team were fizzing with their performance, having achieved what they talked about before the game.

"It's really cool tonight to see the strategy work out. Our focus is not on score; our focus is on performance.

"We had two key things, and they executed that. . . On attack, we wanted to have clear lines to the ball, and defensively, we really wanted to challenge and fight for loose ball."

She says the size discrepancy between the two teams was the key factor in why they weren't able to keep pace when the two-point shot became live in the final five minutes.

The way the angles work makes it easier for the taller men to defend, while at the other end they're more able to shoot over the defenders themselves, she says.

"The team really enjoyed the game this evening. They enjoyed the challenge, they're a team that really likes to learn.

"They were open to try things that we've been working on at training without worrying about it."

Sarah says they've been battling injury and illness all year, and tonight was no different.

But it was even worse for the Nelson Men.

They posted only seven players, having no bench to rely on and testing the endurance of their players with a full 60 minutes.

Coach Kent Perry says that was also an opportunity, with young Garin player Connor Redwood getting a full game of court time.

"It's good, we want to be a pathway for these younger guys.

"Once again, we were down on numbers, with a bare seven."

The men were missing a wealth of their experienced players, but were able to showcase their depth as a squad, he says.

"We had a very different lineup, with Shilog (Walsh) shooting when he's normally in the midcourt. . . it's nice to see how people perform in different positions."

He complimented the strategy of Pango to make their big men have to grovel around their ankles, saying it was a good challenge.

"It's nice when you see a team keeping up with us. No one wants blowouts."