Stoke back in the premier picture

Premier netball will have a new team for 2024 after Stoke edged out Prices Waimea Pango to earn their promotion to the region’s top league.

The 45-36 win sees Stoke graduate to the premier division with a team full of fresh and returning faces to the competition.

While Prices Waimea Pango have been relegated to Senior 1, they will have a chance to earn their way back into the top division at the end of this season’s second round of action.

Stoke earned their challenge through their performance last season, but they have added to their ranks through the summer to make a strong squad for the competition.

With just four players with premier division experience, returning coach Priyani DeSilva-Currie says the squad still has the makings of a strong team.

Having returned to the region, Priyani has a wealth of high-performance netball, which she wants to bring to the team.

Priyani has been involved in netball as a player, bench official, selector, and administrator at different levels, having spent the past decade in the Manawatu.

Prior to leaving, she had spent five years with Stoke Netball, having also had experience with a number of other clubs around the Nelson region.

She says it’s exciting to be back in the local netball space, with a desire to incorporate some of the high-performance nature of Manawatu netball into Stoke.

“We want to be in the top four of the premier grade.

“Without a doubt, we’ve been training like mad.”

With the team coming together just two weeks before the promotion/relegation game, she says it’s been exciting to see the team start to bond and gel together.

And their performance on court shone through, with a well-rounded performance that saw them grow an advantage that they can build upon.

Prices Waimea Pango looked to throw everything they could at the opposition, but it may have been a case of trying too hard as they looked to hold onto their premier division spot.

Scoreboard pressure started to creep in as they struggled to mount a comeback, and errors began to infiltrate their game as they looked to push to create an advantage.

But Stoke held firm in the face of the growing pressure and pace, with their defensive end having an impressive performance to shut down the Pango offence.

Anna Bill in GK and Phoebe Bardoul in GD were impressive, as were the Stoke shooting pair of Jarrah Solly in GA and Rebecca Dudley in GS.

While Pango watched the score slowly slip from their grasp, they deserve commendation for sticking with it.

They threw everything they had at their opposition, but Stoke held firm to win the match and their promotion.

Premier netball gets underway in early May, with Jacks OPD eager to defend their title after winning it back from Prices Waimea Ahurei last season.