Southern NBS are headed for the season’s first promotion/relegation game after falling to a fourth straight loss to the start Mid Canterbury Netball’s ACL Premier 1 competition on Thursday night.

Their 48-13 loss to College A leaves them well and truly at the bottom of the table with only one game left to play in round one, and that’s against a third-placed Methven Wareings side coming off a strong win in their latest outing, just pipping Mt Somers Victory Lime A 28-26.

At the other end of the table, Celtic Auric Electrical A continued their dominance so far this season, with a 57-15 win over last year’s champions Hampstead Ray White A.

Who Southern NBS will play in that promotion/relegation match will be decided after the final games of the round, which features a top-of-the-table clash between Wilsons Windscreens Allenton A and Methven EuroAgri.  The Allenton side is unbeaten so far this season and has a far superior goal differential, however the young Methven EuroAgri side has been showing a lot of promise in 2024, notching up their third win of the season on Thursday night against Celtic Morrison Agri B 46-6.

Allenton A’s latest win on Thursday night was over Hampstead Ray White Senior B, 42-20, while Rakaia ProShear are tied in second spot on the ladder with Methven EuroAgri, after building as the game went on against United KFC A on Thursday and eventually taking a comprehensive 56-26 win.

Down at the bottom of the table, Celtic Morrison Agri B are in a similar position to the Southern side in the top tier, and will face a promotion/relegation match against the top side in ACL Premier 3 on June 4. That side is looking like being College Y10A, who took top spot in the standings courtesy of an impressive 33-19 over College B on Thursday night.

Meanwhile Heatwise Allenton B’s latest win, 39-24 over Hampstead Ray White U18 Development, sees them occupying second spot on the table, while Rakaia Seed Cleaning picked up their first win of the season on Thursday, beating Methven EuroAgri 28-23.

That leaves just Hampstead Ray White U18 Development without a win in ACL Premier 3 – something they’ll be looking to change when they take on Rakaia Seed Cleaning in the late round next week. College B and Methven Shearmac have the early game, with Heatwise Allenton B and College Y10A in the middle.

In ACL Premier 2 next week, Celtic Morrison Agri B start the night off against Rakaia ProShear, before Hampstead Ray White B take on United KFC A, with Wilsons Windscreens Allenton A and Methven EuroAgri having the 8.15pm game.

ACL Premier 1 will kick off with College A and Hampstead Ray White A next week, before Southern NBS play Methven Wareings, and the top-of-the-table clash between Celtic Auric Electrical A and Mt Somers Victory Lime A finishes the night off.

Article added: Friday 24 May 2024