Mid Canterbury’s bid to defend the Hanan Shield on home turf has fallen short, with South Canterbury instead heading home with the prestigious shield in hand.

The Cindy Meadows coached Sidekick Mid Canterbury senior representative side took on South Canterbury in their first game of the annual tournament at the EA Networks Centre – where the games were made up of 15-minute quarters compared to the 10 minute quarters played in Mid Canterbury’s ACL Premier competition - and found the going tough, eventually going down 52-40.

They were then left to cheer on North Otago when they took on South Canterbury in the next game, needing the Oamaru side to win if either side were to stand a chance of taking home the shield, but South Canterbury again proved too strong, winning by a similar margin, 58-42.

With the shield secure in Timaru for the next year, there was pride still to play for in the final match up of the day between Mid Canterbury and North Otago and the home side finished strong, downing the visitors 58-33.

While it was disappointing to not keep the shield in Mid Canterbury for another year, captain Alice Breading and her side finished with their heads well and truly held high and are already looking forward to their next challenge – the Senior Whakataetae held in Ashburton on September 1-2.

That tournament run by Mid Canterbury Netball, aimed at teams not attending Netball New Zealand’s Open Championships in Dunedin, had attracted five entries – Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, North Otago, Selwyn and Nelson - although North Otago have had to withdraw due to unforeseen circumstances.

The four remaining teams will play each other in hour-long games over the two days, with all teams playing two games on the Saturday and one each on the Sunday. Spectators are more than welcome!

The Sidekick Mid Canterbury team for 2023 is: Alice Breading (captain), Caitlin Adlam, Rachel Grant, Sammy Holden, Mellissa Mathieson, Alyssa McGinity, Olivia McLennan, Ellen Nicol, Shannon Vidler, Natasha Waddell. Non-travelling reserves: Hayley Duthie, Samantha Collins, Teigan Parish.

Article added: Monday 07 August 2023