Six titles in row for dominant Magpies

The Magpies players after winning the Dunedin club netball final against St Hilda’s Collegiate at the Edgar Centre. Back row (from left): Zoey Flockton, Sophie Erwood, Jennifer O’Connell, Maddie Hunt, Penny Mouat, Nicky Wallace and manager Christine Thomlinson. Front row (from left): Coach Abbey McKenzie with daugher Harper McKenzie (3), Bethany Robertson, Tarryn Dickson, Eden Millan. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery.

In the end, the dynasty that is the Southern Magpies was just too strong.

The team put on a dominant showing to claim its sixth Dunedin club title in a row at the Edgar Centre on Saturday, beating St Hilda’s Collegiate 84-38.

The landslide started early and there was little the school team could do to stop it.

There was hardly an area Southern did not dominate, putting in a complete team performance.

Goal shoot Jennifer O’Connell was the most dominant player on the court.

She used her considerable size advantage to provide a easy target for her feeders and was able to establish position close to the goal.

When she missed, she nearly always got the rebound and converted, as she finished with 64 goals from 79 attempts.

It was a tough task for St Hilda’s defenders Meg Timu and Mara McCurdy, who continued to battle, but the size difference was just too much.

O’Connell was well supported by Eden Millan, who had a good game and shot 13/14, while Maddie Hunt came on to deliver 7/9.

There was more to it than just its shooting, though.

The Magpies had 104 goal attempts, compared with the 60 of St Hilda’s, indicative of Southern’s dominance through the court.

Its defence was disruptive and turned over plenty of ball, while its midcourt was slick and accurate.

Zoey Flockton and Sophie Erwood fed the ball well, while Penny Mouat worked well with the defenders to be disruptive throughout.

At the back, Tarryn Dickson and Nicky Wallace’s height proved key, while Bethany Robertson was energetic.

The performance was one that pleased coach Abbey McKenzie, who had taken over the team at the beginning of the year.

"Pretty speechless really, that’s amazing, emphatic. We couldn’t have scripted it better if we tried," she said when asked how the team had felt.

"From a coach’s perspective just seeing everything we’ve worked on come together, and to do it for the whole four quarters [was pleasing], everything we worked on, just amazing."

The Magpies put their foot down early and even at the midpoint of the first quarter, it was going to be a long way back for St Hilda’s.

With the score at 7-4, the Magpies scored four straight, opening up an eight-goal gap.That continued and, at the end of the first quarter, the score was at 24-9.

By halftime it was 45-17, which was extended to 63-24 at the end of the third.

For St Hilda’s, which has enjoyed a remarkable run on the way to the final, it had been a tough day.

Despite that, the team never gave up and kept battling even when facing a 40-point deficit.

"It was always going to be a big ask; I’m really proud," coach Lana Morrison said.

"I think for the girls to be the second team in Dunedin is pretty awesome."

And yes the scoreline says it all, but I still thought they had some really amazing passages of play and Southern were on fire.

"They had a good game, but I also felt that we had some moments."

In other games, Phys Ed A claimed third place with a 54-45 win over College A, South Pac Titans beat University Albion A 62-53 and Phys Ed B downed Phys Ed Blue 50-46.