Dunedin's under-17 and under 19 teams could both have a point of difference for their upcoming national tournaments.
Twins.
Abby and Sophie Erwood (18) will represent the under-19 team in its tournament starting on Monday in Auckland, while Kate and Georgia Heffernan (15) will take part in the national under-17 tournament in Mount Maunganui the following week.
The Erwoods, both students at the University of Otago, are expecting a tight tournament.
Dunedin is pitted in pool B with North Harbour, Taranaki, Rotorua and Hutt Valley.
''I think we've got a pretty good pool,'' Sophie said.
''There's no easy way around it, but I think definitely we could make the finals. That's the aim, anyway.''
After playing Rotorua and Taranaki on day one, the side will complete pool play against North Harbour and Hutt Valley on Tuesday.
A top-two finish will enable the team to advance to the quarterfinals. Otherwise, it will play off for the bottom places.
Coached by Jo Morrison, the under-19 team played two warm-up games in Gore last month.
It pushed the South under-23 team, which included Steel players Sophia Fenwick, Gina Crampton, Storm Purvis, Brooke Leaver and Stacey Peeters, before eventually losing 64-51. It beat the Southland men's team 36-28 in its other game.
Sophie, who plays goal attack or goal shoot, and Abby, who plays goal defence or goal keep, were named in the New Zealand under-21 team in April.
They are from Lawrence and attended South Otago High School, and have almost always played their netball together.
It was not until a couple of months ago that they played against each other for the first time, in the Dunedin premier competition.
Sophie, who plays for Southern, sank a shot on fulltime to beat Abby's team, Phys Ed, 52-51.
''She won that round by one goal and took the penalty shot and won it,'' Abby said.
''I got called for contact and had to stand beside her on that final shot on the final whistle.''
The two will again meet a week after returning from tournament, and Abby is expecting another ''vicious'' match.
Georgia and Kate are from Tapanui, and started boarding at St Hilda's Collegiate in Dunedin at the start of the year.
The pair, who are also in the Otago Sparks cricket squad, play for the St Hilda's senior A team in the Dunedin schools competition.
Georgia is a goal shoot and Kate a centre.
They will play against the Erwoods when their sides meet in a warm-up match at the Edgar Centre tomorrow.
The younger twins helped the Lana Morrison-coached Dunedin under-17 team go undefeated at the Netball South invitational tournament in Gore last month, and are aiming for a top-five finish at the national tournament.
Since making the ''big change'' and boarding at St Hilda's, it did not take the Heffernans long to notice the step up in the quality of netball.
''It's been much different to where we came from,'' Georgia said.
''It's way more competitive here. At Tapanui, there was a smaller amount of girls, and here it's real competitive.''
The four-day national under-17 tournament gets under way at Mount Maunganui on July 13.
Dunedin is in pool C with Thames Valley, Kapiti, Mid-Canterbury and North Canterbury.
Dunedin netball
The teams
Under-19: Elleshia Clarkson, Tarryn Dickson, Rosa Edwards, Abby Erwood, Sophie Erwood, Rebecca Gold, Jamie Hume, Jennifer O'Connell, Laura Overton, Rachel Segar, Bayley Smith.
Under-17: Lily Cunningham, Sydney Evans-Tobata, Georgia Heffernan, Kate Heffernan, Atawhai Hotene, Mariah Nelson, Kimberley Paisley, Kiana Pelasio, Ashley Pink, Gabi Pleace.
