With the season starting slightly later than normal, players were fresh and ready to hit the ground running. The opening round featured an exciting preview of the talent on show this season. Plenty of new players have arrived in Dunedin.
A steady grind from the Southern Magpies resulted in a dominant 58-35 win over Columba College.
The first quarter was relatively tight as the Magpies built a 16-13 lead.
Both teams looked focused on developing composure and connections in their first 15 minutes of the season.
The margin widened throughout the game as the powerful Magpies settled into their rhythm, and their players got stuck in to their roles and responsibilities.
The first half finished with a 30-21 lead to Southern, who pushed ahead to 44-29 after three quarters and kept applying the pressure in the fourth.
Southern co-coach Lana Morrison was happy with her team’s performance.
"It was great to build connections and get everyone out on court."
The Magpies are a new-look side with only Chloe Davis, Emma de Lautour and Rebecca Mace staying on from last year’s team.
They will seek plenty of improvement after finishing seventh in premier netball last year.
Columba are also a relatively new team with only Billie-Rose Craig, Georgia Spek, Lucy Morrison and Millie Mackenzie remaining from the South Island secondary schools-winning team of 2023.
The school team will work towards the South Island schools tournament in Christchurch later this year.
They are led by new coach and former Silver Fern Jodi Brown, who will provide a wealth of knowledge for the young team.
There were a couple of other lopsided scorelines in the opening round of the premier competition.
University-Albion A beat University-Albion B 59-35, and College beat St Hilda’s 54-26.
The battle of the Physed teams was closer as Physed A beat Physed B 40-34.
Physed A were able to nudge ahead as they built on connections developed last season.
— Hannah Bisset
