Week one of Mid Canterbury Netball’s ACL Premier competition offered up a real mixed bag of results, so it’s anyone’s guess what week two will bring.

ACL Premier 1 got off to a top start for Hampstead Ray White A, who completely dominated their game against Methven Wareings A, eventually winning 38-11, but the opening night’s second game was polar opposite as it couldn’t have been much closer.

Southern Rakaia Hub A led most of the way, but United KFC A mounted a late charge and with time almost up, United’s Jessie Turner-Robinson kept calm and slotted the goal that would tie it all up, the game ending in a 26-all draw.

The last ACL Premier 1 game of the night followed a similar pattern as the first though, with Mt Somers Victory Lime A struggling to get any momentum against the defending champions, Celtic Auric Electrical A, with the Celtic side winning 59-22.

ACL Premier 2 was where the closest games were fought out in 2022, and while there ended up being some big winning margins on night one, indications are there that it’ll tighten up once teams really start to find their feet. Rakaia ProShear started with a strong 32-19 win over Celtic Darryl Phillips Motor Company B, while the As won the battle between College A and B 47-24, and last year’s ACL Premier 2 winners Allenton A got their first win on the board for 2023 with a 21-13 victory over Methven EuroAgri.

Some big winning margins featured in ACL Premier 3 too, with Methven’s two sides not helped by a couple of injuries, as Methven Shearmac Aluminium went down 48-12 to College Y10A, and Methven Garage Gym went down 39-4 to Hampstead Ray White B. It was a different story in the last game of the night though with the Rakaia Seed Cleaning team making their ACL Premier debut pushing Hampstead Ray White C to the limit, the Hampstead side eventually winning 30-27.

Week two’s games on Thursday night (May 4) will see Hampstead Ray White A take on United KFC A, Mt Somers Victory Lime A taking on Southern Rakaia Hub A, and Methven Wareings taking on Celtic Auric Electrical A in ACL Premier 1.

In ACL Premier 2 Celtic Darryl Phillips Motor Company B and College A will kick the night off, followed by Methven EuroAgri and College B, then what could be a contender for match of the night between Allenton A and Rakaia ProShear.

Methven Garage Gym will open proceedings in ACL Premier 3 against Rakaia Seed Cleaning, followed by Hampstead Ray White C and Methven Shearmac, before College Y10A finish off the night against Hampstead Ray White B.

For all three grades the first games will be 6.15pm, second at 7.15pm, and the last games of the night at 8.15pm.

Meanwhile Mid Canterbury Netball’s popular social competition will get under way on Wednesday night (May 3) with the first of two grading nights.

Article added: Tuesday 02 May 2023