Height advantage too big to overcome

An improved performance wasn’t enough against the FCL Nelson Men titans for Nelson College for Girls.

As the action in NBS premier grade netball enters the fourth round, Richmond F45 kept their hot streak alive in a 63-37 and Jacks OPD reigned supreme over Prices Waimea Ahurei 55-51.

While Nelson College for Girls’ Senior A team found themselves on the wrong side of an 81-26 ledger, there were signs of improvement from their encounter earlier in the season.

With the Nelson Men at essentially full strength, they showed signs of frustration despite improving on their performance against the same team in the first round.

While Nelson College for Girls, who lost that prior game 58-26, allowed more points this time around, they will take positives out of their successes.

Defensively, they earned a significant amount of turnovers through the midcourt and forced the men to revert to using their height to their advantage.

And it was a big advantage, particularly in rebounding, with the school girls struggling at both ends of the court to gain possession after misses.

Nelson College for Girls employed a short passing game well but at times were called up for it by the umpires when it became too short.

When they did have success, it was often through the height of Greer Robertson in the shooting circle, who was their only player to be able to compete for the ball in the air.

The Men, who came away with another big win, have shown that they are still a hard team to overcome.

Having lost their first game since returning to the premier grade earlier this season, they have bounced back well with another strong performance in the books, with centre Ricky Fry and the shooting pair of Jared Lock and Matt Davies combining well for an impressive performance.