Sunday 9th April 2023
It was another quick trip for WBOP to the South Island over the weekend. As the team got off the plane they noticed the drop in temperature. The team settled into their accommodation and headed out for an Italian dinner. On Sunday the team went to the Botanical Gardens for a hot coffee and a stroll before heading to the stadium.
WBOP started the first quarter strong scoring the first two goals, but then unforced errors began to creep in. Both teams took a while to settle, and the quarter was pretty much goal for goal with Mainland winning the quarter by 1. Kate Taylor scoring an impressive 9 from 9.
Quarter score: 10 – 11 to Mainland
The second quarter saw a shuffle in the attack end and Ashley Maylor coming into GA. WBOP seemed to be a bit flustered not releasing the ball quickly which increased their error rate. Mainland got a couple of runs of 3+ which saw them win the quarter by 7.
Half time score: 17 – 25 to Mainland
Kaiya Kepa started the third quarter at C, Reeghan and Liza switching in the defense end and Hylan Potts moving back into WA. Although the error rate was still high, WBOP managed to get many gains allowing them to win the quarter by 2.
Three quarter score: 32 – 38 to Mainland
The coaches stuck with the 7 from the third quarter, but a few errors at the beginning saw Mainland get a run of 5 goals. After that WBOP became a lot tidier, looking after the ball, scoring their own centre-passes, but found it tricky to force turnovers and gain ball.
Final score: 44 – 51 to Mainland
With three more games to go in Tauranga, Auckland and Hamilton and still sitting in 3rd place on the points table, WBOP will be looking to finish the campaign strongly.
