Rural schoolgirls netball semis set to go
The finalists for Thursday's ISSA Rural schoolgirls netball will be decided tomorrow, with the playing of the semifinals of the Junior and Senior competitions at Manchester High school starting at 11:30 a.m.
In Junior action, defending champions Holmwood Technical High tackle Glenmuir High and Denbigh High battle Manchester High. In the Senior competition, defending champions Glenmuir will play May Day High, while Holmwood will go up against Denbigh.
Last year, Holmwood denied Glenmuir the double after defeating them in the Junior final, and it should be a mouthwatering clash when both teams renew their rivalry tomorrow.
The Carline Graham-Powell-coached Holmwood, who with most of last year's winning members now playing in the Senior competition, have been unbeaten, but she is not taking things for granted.
"It is a fairly new team, as most of the players who won the title last year, are now on the Senior team. We want to move to the final to defend our title, but we are taking it one game at a time," said Graham-Powell, who was impressed with their quarterfinal 28-14 win over Dinthill Technical High.
Glenmuir's coach, Ryan Reid, is not perturbed by the 10-goal loss they suffered to Denbigh in the preliminary round and expects a top performance from his players in their battle with Holmwood.
"Since that loss to Denbigh, we have stepped up our performances big time. It should be a good match-up with Holmwood, and our girls are ready for the challenge," said Reid.
The Samantha Mundle-coached Denbigh have been excellent all season. Led by outstanding goal shooter Leneice Williams, they have been scoring big wins over their opponents and should get by the Simone Smith-coached Manchester High and book a spot in the final.
In the Senior semifinals, both Glenmuir and Holmwood should get by their opponents.
With last year's Junior MVP goal attack, Jada Ricketts leading the charge, it has been one-way traffic for the 12-time champions Glenmuir this season, with blow-out wins. This will be their biggest challenge as former champions Denbigh are on the rebound and hoping for an upset.
Glenmuir, who have only played three competitive games in over four weeks, are expected to get by the improved May Day, who are making their first appearance at this stage.