That is the question most are asking after the Kings United Royals made it five on the trot with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Momona in the premier women’s club game on Saturday.
Amid an availability squeeze due to University exams, Kings turned up in numbers, and it made the difference as they were 3-0 up in a blink of an eye.
Abby Fookes nabbed the first two, finding herself in the right place at the right time, before the in-form Theodora Gempton joined in on the fun.
Momona were left shell-shocked and almost in damage limitation mode, though they responded well to tighten things up and get to halftime with no further scoring.
That gave them some hope they could start a comeback, having halted most of Kings’ momentum, but the women in white would not relent.
There were a few red waves in the third and fourth quarters, but one particularly good penalty corner save from Rachel Lecky ensured Kings would hold on to their clean sheet.
They were not done at the other end, either, as Madi Lobb completed the rout late in the fourth quarter.
The result still leaves Kings two points adrift of the City Highlanders, who did well to keep pace with a 6-0 win over the Taieri Tigers.
The Tigers have struggled to always get their best side on the park, and it showed as the Highlanders put them to the sword.
Mya O’Connor was the chief destroyer, bagging a hat-trick.
City still have the overall lead but the five-time defending champions are going to do well to hold out Kings.
In the other women’s game, the University Huskies cruised past their club rivals, the Stingrays, 6-0.
In the premier men’s competition, the Albany Alligators successfully defended the Challenge Shield with a squeaky 2-1 win over the Kings United Cobras.
Max Braithwaite opened the scoring inside three minutes for the challengers with a well-taken deflection, but unfortunately for Kings that was the last bit of action keepers Michael Lobb and Nicholas Friedlander would have to face for the afternoon.
Despite not being at their best, Albany defended well, and turned that into forward pressure, leading to Charlie Falconer finding an equaliser shortly before quarter time.
The game remained on a knife edge, locked at 1-1 heading into the fourth, but Kings just could not crack the Albany defence, and eventually they were punished.
Following a swift counter-attack, Charlie Standish found Jack Cotton, who — like always — managed to find his way on to the scoresheet with what turned out to be the game winner.
Elsewhere, a young Southland Barbarians side showed plenty of grit, but were unable to hold out the University Whales, who finished with four fourth-quarter goals to win 8-0.
The Taieri Tuataras eased to a 4-1 win over the University Panthers. — Nicholas Friedlander
