The future of Otago netball appears in good hands after the cream of the province's young players wrapped up the inaugural Lois Muir Netball Challenge in Rotorua at the weekend.
Otago sailed through the sevenmatch tournament unbeaten, cementing its place at the top of the table with wins over Bay of Plenty and Auckland in Rotorua.
It was appropriate Otago will be the first province engraved on the new trophy, named in honour of Otago netball identity Lois Muir.
On Saturday, Otago produced a final-quarter comeback to beat Bay of Plenty 51-49 while yesterday Otago led Auckland throughout to win 51-48.
As only unbeaten team going into final round, Otago could have lost by fewer than five goals and still won the tournament.
‘‘We didn't even consider that. We just went out there to win it,'' coach Janine Southby said.
Fittingly, Muir was on hand to present the trophy to her home team.
‘‘It's really special to be able to win the Lois Muir Challenge Trophy in the first year up,'' Southby said.
‘‘Lois presented the trophy to us today which was really special She was being very diplomatic but secretly I think she was really thrilled.''
Southby believed the victory boded well for Otago netball, particularly as the average age of her team was 18.
‘‘I just think the future for this group of players is extremely exciting. They've worked hard and they've had different challenges along the way.
‘‘Every question that has been asked of them, they've come back and answered it.''
Southby said the focus now needed to be on ensuring Otago held on to the players and got the maximum from their talents.
The players would now return to their clubs but would likely appear in Otago colours at the under-19 and under-21 national tournaments.
‘‘Some of them have put their names up for New Zealand under-21 squads,'' she said.
Southby believed the new tournament, established as a feeder competition for the ANZ Championship, had proved its worth and should become a regular fixture on the New Zealand netball calendar.
‘‘I think it's been a really strong competition. The comments around the sidelines have been that everyone is pleased with it.
‘‘It's a chance to look at the next best players who aren't playing in the franchise competition, and that's got to be good for the game. ‘‘I see some of these players being the names of the next couple years.''
Southby said the only change she would like to see with the tournament was to include a finals weekend where players could experience the pressure of semifinals and finals netball.
