Instead, Southern A's comfortable 61-42 over Phys Ed A in the premier A grade was a rather limp affair, according to Dunedin umpire Jono Bredin.
Watching from the sidelines, Bredin said the game lacked intensity.
"It just seemed like they were going through the motions, really," Bredin said.
"For two of our top teams I would have expected it to be closer and for it to be a bit more intense."
The teams traded goals in the first quarter with Southern taking a three-goal advantage into the break.
But some good work on defence by Lorie McDonald and Emma Moynihan saw Southern stretch its lead to 28-18 by half-time.
"In the second and third quarter Phys Ed sort of fell asleep.
They lost those quarters by seven and six goals respectively.
The shooters weren't finding the target and there was a lot of turn-over ball," Bredin said.
Greir Campbell made a welcome return.
The Southern goal shoot injured herself while playing for Otago in the Lois Muir challenge but barely missed a beat on Saturday, dropping in 41 of her 53 attempts.
Campbell had good support from Rihi Salter who scored 20 from 28.
Southern pressed its advantage in the third quarter, outscoring its opponent 16-10 to forge an unassailable lead.
Danielle Calnan impressed at wing defence for Phys Ed A and shooters Kate Parsons (16 from 22) and Claire Adams (16/22) played well in patches.
In other matches, College grabbed its first win in the premier A tournament with a 42-36 win over Southern B and the University Albion juggernaut swept Phys Ed B aside 78-24.
