Waitākere 1 repelled a fast-finishing Dunedin to win the Margaret Forsyth Cup after posting a 37-34 win in the final of the Netball New Zealand U18 Champs, fittingly, on their home courts at the Waitākere Netball Centre.
Dominating the first half through well-executed through-court transition, excellent shooter-to-shooter connection, and handy defensive gains, Waitākere doubled their five-goal first quarter lead to 10 and seemed well in control when leading 24-14 at halftime.
However, Dunedin showed plenty of resolve with a stirring second-half comeback to chip away at the deficit. Improved ball retention, mixing up their attacking play with long and short feeds, and finishing off with great accuracy under the hoop, Dunedin cut the deficit to five when trailing 32-27 at three-quarter time.
The southerners made the perfect start to the last stanza, closing to within three and looking ever-threatening, but a late rally helped Waitākere hold on and claim the prized trophy, which was presented by the late Margaret Forsyth’s son Thomas Nabbs and her mother, Vera.
"This has been five years in the making... we’ve been in three finals, so this is third time lucky," delighted Waitākere 1 coach Di Pakau said. "We lost in overtime to Auckland last year, so we had some unfinished business and it was a big monkey off our back.
"We couldn’t have asked for anything better, doing it at home. With the home crowd talked about as being the eighth player, we really needed them in that fourth quarter because Dunedin really came back at us.
"And hats off to them as well. They’re a mighty team with lots of great players.
"The whole week we built into it, the games progressively got a lot tighter and that final out there was no different. We knew Dunedin weren’t going to give up and just go away, so trusting in our processes, our structures, and each other has been our go-to this week, and pouring into the team cup and making sure that by the end we had nothing left while leaving it all out there."
Earlier in the day, the semi-finals were hotly contested clashes with Dunedin squeezing past their southern rivals Christchurch Red 23-21 and Waitākere 1 pipping Wellington Black 24-23 in a thriller.
Wellington Black went on to clinch third place with a decisive 30-19 win over Christchurch Red.
There was double reason for home celebrations when Waitākere 1 successfully defended their title in the men’s U18 grade with a 34-29 win over Howick Pakuranga.