South Canterbury have successfully defended netball’s Hanan Shield with two dominant displays on home turf.

Twelve months after securing the shield in Ashburton, Timaru set out to keep the shield on Sunday, starting the day off against North Otago before finishing it off against Mid Canterbury in what was essentially a final to end the annual round robin competition.

South Canterbury’s defence started well, with a commanding 63-30 win over North Otago, before Mid Canterbury handed the North Otago side a similar result, the green and golds taking the win 57-34.

That set up what most expected to be tense finale showdown in front of a good-sized crowd of supporters from both Mid and South Canterbury, and while it was tight early on, the home side built as the game went on.

The Andrea Cousins coached Mid Canterbury side trailed by three - 13-10 - at quarter time and only managed to score four goals in the second quarter, down 27-14 at half time.

That left a big hill to climb in the second half, and it proved too high. South Canterbury won the third 14-8 and the last 10-5, to take the win 51-27 and ensure the Hanan Shield stayed in Timaru for another year.

Next year’s Hanan Shield tournament will be held in Oamaru.

Mid Canterbury will get a shot at redemption next month though, when the second annual Senior Whakataetae takes place at Ashburton’s EA Networks Centre on September 7 and 8. The same four teams that contested the tournament in 2023 – Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, Selwyn and Nelson – will again contest that title over the two days.

Last year South Canterbury did the double, winning both the Hanan Shield and the Senior Whakataetae, and Mid Canterbury will be working hard to ensure that the Timaru side don’t do it again in 2024.

Article added: Sunday 18 August 2024