The Indoor Netball event this year had 24 teams taking part at Hutt Indoor Sports on Saturday, October 7th.
In Pool A, last year’s beaten finalists Courier Post were in ominous form and swept aside their opposition. They clearly had there sights set on going one step further in this year’s event.
Pool B was our most evenly contested pool. Kiwibank 2 and IRD Upper Hutt 2 both performed similarly, winning four of their five matches by fairly close margins and then drawing with each other 12-all in a tough match. Wellington Airport were unlucky to not progress to the quarter finals after a couple of narrow losses.
Datacom were the team to beat in Pool C, as they marched through their matches largely unrivaled. IRD Wellington finished an easy second in the pool and even came within 4 points of Datacom.
Pool D was dominated by two giants, defending champs Department of Internal Affairs and the team from Awesome Bounce Ltd. Both sides racked up big wins against their opposition and it was clear to all that the match between these sides would be a spectacle not to miss. In a pool match worthy of a final, Awesome Bounce got their noses ahead towards the end and managed to hold on, 21-18.
Quarter final 1 was rematch of last year’s final, Courier Post vs DIA. The Posties looked sharper throughout and outplayed DIA to take an important 20-16 victory and a significant psychological boost heading into their semi.
The second quarter final was an intriguing derby match between IRD Wellington and IRD Upper Hutt. The Wellington faction were too good for Upper Hutt, winning 22-17, and not only progressed to the semis, but gained precious bragging rights over their cross-town sibling for the next 12 months.
In Quarter finals 3 and 4, Datacom brushed aside Kiwibank 20-4 while Awesome Bounce continued their impressive form by humbling IRD Upper Hutt’s second team 35 to 11.
Courier Post looked unstoppable in semi final 1 as they defeated Datacom 35-25. The second semi final between Awesome Bounce and IRD Wellington was a much tighter affair,as Awesome Bounce dug deep to win an entertaining match by just one goal, 34-33.
With so many talented teams having already bowed out by the time we reached the final, everyone was excited to see what drama our finalists would conjure up. In an incredibly fast-paced match, Courier Post made more passes stick and took a lead into half time. Awesome Bounce played exceptionally until the end but it wasn’t enough, as Courier Post earned the gold medals with a brilliant 26-22 victory.
It was fantastic to see so many different companies fielding talented teams at this year’s event. Well done to everyone and congratulations to Courier Post for such a hard-earned win!