Competition put on notice by dominant wins

Jacks OPD have sent a message to the competition with a dominant 64-30 win over Richmond F45 in Thursday night’s NBS premier netball.

In other results, Prices Waimea Ahurei came out trumps over Stoke NBS, 63-43, and the Nelson FCL Men couldn’t be stopped by a defiant Nelson Girls College, 58-26.

While both Richmond and Jacks traded blows through the opening 10 minutes, with both team’s scoring at an even pace, the tides quickly turned.

Jacks remained in control for the remainder of the game, winning at all ends of the court as they kept Richmond to just three points in the third quarter.

With mistakes compounding and a risky two-point arc, Richmond quickly fell behind and never really found their bearings again.

While there were patches when they looked strong, key players like co-captain Amber Healey with injury were sorely missed.

Richmond co-captain and centre Cheslea Martin had a stand out performance, with coach Kathleen Thornalley impressed with her grit on the court.

“Chelsea played bloody well, and defensively, we had strong duos with Eden [Te Huki], Maddi [Springer] and Lucy [Berquist].

“There were passages were our girls had beautiful passages of play.”

Kathleen didn’t spin the performance, saying they had a rough finish against a strong side but she also wasn’t concerned.

“They had a little bit of a run on, and we didn’t, which is Fast 7 netball.

“There’s a long way to the end of the season.”

Jacks coach, Robyn Leonard, says she was “quite pleased” with the performance.

She was impressed with how well the team has gelled together, particularly with a number of new faces in the squad this season.

“Grace, who’s our dual-register from Waimea College, looks like she’s been playing with us forever.”

Holly Chandler had a stand-out performance again with her new team this season, with the New Zealand volleyball representative having a field day with a height and jump advantage in the circle.

Robyn says it was an impressive performance but wanted to share the credit with the whole team.

“A lot of what they get is created from what happens in front of them.

“I was very pleased with how we played.”