Ahurei find their point of difference

It was a display in dominance from some of the region's top premier netball teams.

With players in black arms bands in honour of Nelson Netball Centre's patroness, Geraldine Hodgson, there was a heightened sense of importance to what had started the week as a regular premier grade round.

There was an added intensity as they played in honour of a woman who had likely touched all of their netball journeys, with the community receiving the news just hours before play.

Prices Waimea Ahurei, Jacks OPD and the FCL Nelson Men were clinical in big wins for the three sides.

Although the Men don't earn points on the leader boards, as part of their inclusion in the grade,  they were a class above Richmond F45 in a 76-40 win, while Jacks continued their run at the top of the table by beating Stoke NBS 70-34.

Hot off a redemption win over Richmond last week, Ahurei continued their strong run with a 76-37 win over Nelson College for Girls Senior A.

With two quick points to start the game, they quickly raced away to a big lead that only continued to grow as the game wore on.

The school girls, who are winless so far this season, struggled against the speed and pace of the Ahurei woman but kept their heads high in fighting to the bitter end.

The tenacity of centre Emma Solly, with vision for the pass and an unbelievably high work rate, was admirable in her defiance.

But a one-dimensional offence wasn't going to fluster the strong Ahurei defensive pair of Dayna Kerr and Georgia Davies, who effectively disrupted the over-the-top pass to GS Greer Robertson.

It wasn't a perfect fix though, with Greer still finding a lot of success. But it did do the job.

The Ahurei offence seamlessly blended into the hard work and turn overs from their defence.

Glued together by centre Kyla Matenga and WA Lucy Ingham, Chelsea Reed, Ayla Dewson, and Sheree Peters were given a wealth of ball to work with inside the shooting circle.

While GK Holly Dixon was in the mix for NCG, the fluidity of passes meant they had too many avenues into the shooting circle to defend.