Boilover in schools’ netball

Howick College have made school history by winning Auckland schools netball’s top grade for the first time, defeating reigning champs Avondale in a tight final.
Howick and Avondale had dominated the Premier 1 grade, which is sponsored by Shakespeare Orthodontics, this season – both racking up 10 wins and fighting out an exciting 38-38 draw when they met each other in the penultimate round.
Avondale joined the top level competition in 2022 and were champions that year and in 2023.
This year Howick, with the best defensive record in the competition, impressed all season with their through-court pressure and ability to slow down opposition play. It was no different in the final.
A tight opening quarter saw Howick lead by two goals at the first break. Avondale answered strongly in th e second spell and – credit to the sharp shooting of captain Priscilla Rasmussen – found themselves trailing by just one at halftime.
In the second half, a few errant passes gave Howick the edge and they stormed into the final quarter with their noses in front. Dynamic defensive duo Avah Silva and Eseta Waqaira gave their fans a show in the last quarter, and despite Avondale nipping at their heels, the smart Howick players were able to run down the clock to seal the deal, 40-37.
Four members of the New Zealand U21 squad took the court in Wednesday’s final at St John’s – Priscilla Rasmussen and Lillian Henare-Vaihu for Avondale, and Avah Silva and Charlie Lindsay for Howick.
The final capped a thrilling year in the Premier 1 competition, with many games going down to the wire through 11 tough rounds.
Rachel Rasmussen, Avondale’s head coach, said: “It was an awesome game. We always knew Howick were going to come out really strong and they are a beautiful team.
“I think just a couple of personal errors on our behalf was the telling factor in the end. We’ve got four juniors in our mix and only three from last year so I’m really proud of them for getting here from where they started.
“Bigger picture – we want to qualify for nationals so that’s our next thing. We would have loved a three-peat but it wasn’t to be – Howick were just too good on the day.”
The winners’ head coach, Adelita Sotutu, was almost speechless after the win. “We’ve never won the secondary schools competition at Auckland Netball and we’ve only made the final twice, so it’s been a longstanding goal of ours to be here and win it,” she said.
“I’m so proud of the girls. I think we maybe just wanted it a little more, because we’ve never won it. The girls were all on the same page, they are connected, they are good mates, and they train hard.
“For the girls who are in Year 13 to win this is amazing. We’ve had some girls who have been here since Year 9, so for them to finish their season supporting the young players and bringing them through, and winning for the first time is pretty special.
“Next for this team we would love to be in the final again for UNISS [the Upper North Islands Secondary Schools netball tournament] next week. We won it last year for the first time so the final will be our goal again.”
Both Howick and Avondale get to play at UNISS next week, an intense five-day competition being held this year at Netball Waitākere from September 2-6.
The Howick College website records proudly that the school’s inaugural Premier 1 win title came on the back of the school also winning the Premier 2 grade against Mount Albert Grammar, 41-40, the week before.
Howick’s junior grade teams also helped to win the Auckland Schools combined points competition between all netball schools, playing to see which school had the most wins as a whole on the day.