Darkhorse found as competition heats up

Richmond has enshrined themselves as the dark horse of the premier grade netball competition after another underdog win.

The 53-51 win over Jacks OPD comes just two rounds after the Richmond F45 team overcame Prices Waimea Ahurei.

In other results from the round, the FCL Nelson Men’s size was a big advantage over Stoke NBS in a 74-26 win, while Ahurei were too strong for Nelson College for Girls in rescheduled Monday night action.

Richmond were ecstatic after their win, having come into the game with some wind in their sails but against tough currents of a strong Jacks team.

In a turning of the tables, they led the game throughout as Jacks had to play from an unfamiliar position of being behind.

But it did come down to the final minutes, with two critical turn overs winning the game as they went two points clear with the clock ticking down.

Richmond coach Kathleen Thornalley says it was a full team effort, with the whole squad earning player of the day for the result.

“The girls just powered through a lot of work and we never lost our lead.

“Whoever was on court made such a big different and played their position so well.

“This is what we’ve been building about and talking about. Now it’s all coming together.”

Katheen says it wasn’t perfect netball, with work still to be done, but the result came off one of the best trainings they’ve had this season.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with that game. . . It was such a team effort.”

Jacks coach Robyn Leonard didn’t mince words in saying Richmond were the better team on the night.

“It was good, they played very well and consistently for the full 60 minutes.

“We came back, but every time we got close, there was a turnover and they got it back. They just played better than us.”

While it wasn’t the result Jacks were after, Robyn did say there were silver linings.

“Ruby Sharp, our wee goal attack. She came on under a pressure situation and played well.

“It’s really good to see our young ones coming along and making the position theirs.”

And for fans, the result is an exciting wrinkle to the competition as it’s now a three-horse race for the top spot.

Richmond, Jacks and Ahurei are the teams to beat, with the Men ineligible for playoff contention.

The Men were just too dominant in their game with Stoke, with their size differential seeing them tower over their opponents in every position on the court.

They were also hungry, disrupting a lot of the Stoke ball as they found it hard going to progress the ball up the court.

Stoke had patches where they played strong netball, but every mistake was amplified as the Men’s size in both attacking circles was hard to overcome.

Having earned promotion to the premier league this season, the team has continued to show improvements with some new faces in the mix.

But they haven’t been able to put it all together in a performance to match the high flyers of the competition, yet.

If Richmond’s story is anything to go by, they might be the next team to start causing upsets and making waves.