As the final minutes ticked away in last week’s Mid Canterbury Netball semi-final between College A and United A, I was nervous.

I was a neutral person on the sideline with a camera and a notepad in my hands, but I was still nervous.

It was a game that could have gone either way.

It was a physical battle, full of drama, and it was simply just great.

So, my fingers are crossed that this weekend’s big final between College A and Celtic A will be just as good, if not better.

And I reckon it will be.

That’s because it’s been quite a netball season.

Unlike last year where Celtic A went through the whole season unbeaten and downed Methven A in the final to put the cherry on top of what was a pretty impressive year, 2019 has been anyone’s game.

Every team has been beaten at least once.

It’s been like one big rollercoaster ride for some teams, with plenty of ups, downs and loop-de-loops leading us to the point where we are at right now.

Saturday will be a massive day at the EA Networks Centre.

While the main premier one and premier grade two games have played out on Thursday nights all season, this year Mid Canterbury Netball is doing things a little bit differently and playing all of its finals on the same day – bar the Wednesday night social grades.

The day’s big feature game will be the premier one final between College A and Celtic A – and it should be a right cracker.

I have been there every Thursday night this season, taking in the action and trying really hard to take photos that don’t include overly screwed up faces, tongues poking out, or undies showing – it’s not easy.

But it’s been great fun.

Last Thursday night, that semi-final between College A and United A had to be a contender for game of the season so far.

It was full-on from go to whoa.

Neither side gave an inch.

Every player on that court put their body on the line for the cause, and the crowd – which was also probably one of the biggest and loudest of the season so far – loved it.

It was the kind of game where it was a shame there had to be a loser.

It was sad for United to lose, after such a huge season where they clawed their way out of premier two to become a true premier one title contender, but it also would have been a tragedy had the young College side lost.

They play a lot of netball, and they’re a team that has grown week after week.

They play with the kind of maturity that you don’t always see with school-aged sides, and they have to go into the final as favourites.

But, Celtic A can never be written off.

Like most teams, they went through a bit of a bad patch in the season’s second round, but they’ve well and truly hit their straps again in recent weeks.

And most of the girls in green have one big thing on their sides – experience, or more importantly, finals experience.

At this point in the season it’s all about the one game.

College A may have had the better of Celtic A so far this season, drawing with them in round one before beating them in rounds two and three, but that doesn’t count for a lot now.

No matter what the sport, a final is a different beast.

There’s nerves and pressure to contend with, and a lot of noise coming from the sidelines.

It all comes down to who handles all of those different factors the best.

What team that will be on Saturday, I don’t know.

But I’m really excited to find out.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 20 August 2019

United A’s Alice Hamill looks to receive a pass under pressure from College A’s Faith Scott during Thursday night’s semi-finals. Photo Erin TaskerCollege A and Celtic A will contest the 2019 Mid Canterbury Netball premier one final after both won close, but vastly different semi-finals at the EA Networks Centre on Thursday night.

Top-of-the-table College A took on fourth-ranked United A in the night’s first semi-final and although the underdog United side led for much of the match, the young competition favourites came through when it mattered, just edging ahead in the dying stages to take it out 38-37.

It was a dramatic finish to a drama-filled game, where neither side gave an inch from start to finish.

United just managed to get their noses in front early, leading 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, but College came out firing in the second, scoring the first three goals to lead 12-11.

United recovered and by half-time they’d restored their two-goal margin to be 23-21 up at the mid-point, but again College A came out all guns blazing in the third quarter and soon the two sides were locked at 26-all.

A late turnover gave United the slightest of edges again though, and by three-quarter time the margin was three, at 31-28.

With their season on the line, College A were determined to fight their way back, but United A weren’t going to lie down.

So started a final quarter which had the large, vocal crowd on the edges of their seats.

College drew level at 31-all, then United got out by three, before College came back to again level things up. With three minutes on the clock, it was anyone’s game, at 35-all.

With just over a minute to play, came the deciding moment.

College A nabbed a turnover and scored off it which put them one goal ahead, and from there they made the mature yet possibly slightly risky decision to just pass the ball around as the final minute ticked away.

It worked, and they held on for the win.

College A coach Kaye Kennedy said she was incredibly proud of her young side.

“I was really proud of the way the girls just managed to keep their cool in that last little bit when we were down, because there was a lot of crowd noise and it could have gone either way.

“We could’ve absolutely lost our heads and turned the ball over, but we didn’t,” Kennedy said.

After the excitement died down from that game, the two versus three semi-final then pitted the defending champions Celtic A against a Hampstead A side they’d lost to in the season’s third and final championship round.

While it wasn’t the best performance of the season by either side, with both struggling to turn possession into points at times, Celtic A held on to take it out 24-22 to secure the second spot in next Saturday’s final.

Celtic A coach Ange Leadley said it was a great team effort.

“It was good to step it up another notch and see some things that we have been practising definitely put out on the court, and I think that the determination of the girls really stood out for me,” Leadley said.

In the night’s other premier one match, Methven A’s disappointing season came to a close with their second loss to Mt Somers, 28-25, in the play-off for fifth.

Meanwhile, in the premier two semi-finals, top qualifiers Celtic B took on College B and came away with a 36-27 win. They will now go on to face Southern A in the premier two final, after the Southern girls came through to beat Methven B 35-22 in the other semi.

In the premier two play-off for fifth, Hampstead B just beat Celtic C 36-34.

Both games will be be played on an all-inclusive Mid Canterbury Netball finals day on Saturday August 24, as opposed to premier’s usual Thursday night.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 16 August 2019

Looking to get past a Lincoln High School player during a sporting exchange between the two schools on Monday was Ashburton College’s Will Joyce. Joyce and his senior boys’ basketball team mates picked up a win, on what was a pretty good day for the home sides all around. Photo supplied.Winning all bar one of the battles on court set Ashburton College up for a narrow win in an annual sporting exchange with Lincoln High School on Monday.

Ashburton College took the victory 7-6 after dominating when it came to the sports that played out indoors, while Lincoln had the edge outside under the surprisingly blue skies.

A bad forecast meant that when the youngsters left school for the weekend on Friday, there was a good chance of weather stopping the exchange from going ahead, but after a cold and wet weekend Monday’s skies dawned clear.

And the visitors made the most of the fine conditions, with Lincoln winning both of the day’s football encounters with relative ease.

The Lincoln boys won 5-1 at the Ashburton Domain while the Lincoln girls beat their Ashburton College counterparts 11-0.

It was a similar story on the hockey turf, with the Lincoln hockey girls keeping the home side scoreless and winning 8-0, while the Lincoln boys won 4-1.

Lincoln did suffer one loss outside, though, with the under-15 rugby battle at Celtic going the way of Ashburton College 36-14.

The Lincoln side did pick up a couple of wins indoors, too, taking out the table tennis 5-1 and the senior girls’ basketball 47-41.

But that basketball win was the only one Lincoln picked up of the seven games that played out at the EA Networks Centre.

There were four basketball games played all-up, with Ashburton College taking out the senior boys’ game 66-47 and the junior girls’ game 45-32, before the junior boys picked up the biggest win of the day, 95-33.

Three netball games were also contested and all three went the way of the Ashburton College sides, although they were close.

The College B girls won 25-21, while the year 10A girls won 24-21 and the year 9A girls just managed to sneak the win 31-30.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 13 August 2019