Few chinks in Central armour

Few chinks in Central armour

Netball Central continues to flex their muscles despite having already booked their place in the Beko Netball League title decider.

Last year’s runners-up meet the fourth-placed SKYCITY Marvels at the Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North on Monday. It is the only league match to be played before next weekend’s all-important final round where the team to take on Central in the June 18 grand final will be determined.

Consistency has been a hallmark of their performances this season with Hellers Netball Mainland having come closest to toppling Central going down by three goals in Round 3. Since then however Central has dominated on the scoreboard and impressed on court with strengths in all three areas.

Coach Natalie Milicich had a core of seven players returning from last year’s final including Te Wānanga O Raukawa Pulse defender Karin Burger and mid-courter Sheridan Bignall.

But their armour has shown few chinks across the board – from the shooting combination of Jermaine Howard-Vallance and Renae Matoe through to defenders Burger and Danielle Tafili.

The experienced mid-court combination of Kimiora Poi and Mila Reuela-Buchanan are key links and will be buoyed by their naming in the NZU21 team to play at the Netball World Youth Cup 2017 in Botswana.

Add into the mix a strong bench and Central’s campaign has shown plenty of similarities to that of the unbeaten Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel in the ANZ Premiership.

Milicich has also called on ANZ Premiership players Cathrine Tuivaiti and Phoenix Karaka from the Pulse, to offer their knowledge at either end of the court.

Meanwhile, the Marvels have won three league matches this season but bonus points keep them with a mathematical chance of reaching the final two. It will take a mammoth task to end Central’s winning streak to nab maximum points and keep them in the running for the final. They last met in Round 5 when Central won by 15 goals.

The final round will see both Mainland and Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty (WBOP) vying for the chance to meet Central in the grand final at The Trusts Arena in Auckland. WBOP will however need to topple the unbeaten Central and need Mainland to lose against the High Wire Trust Northern Comets to progress.

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