The Gauteng Jaguars successfully defended their fourth consecutive Telkom Netball League yesterday against the Free State Crinums at the Mangaung Indoor Sports Complex. The match was evenly poised coming into half time, only one goal separated these two sides after two quarters 16-15. In the second half, the defending champions took it up a notch and were on cruise control. The Crinums couldn’t convert their centre passes in the first four minutes of the second half. The champions won by 38-26 score line.
The Crinums let themselves down as they were caught napping in the third and the fourth stanza and allowed the gap to widen between the two sides. Both teams made a few changes to try and rectify their mistakes, for the Crinums it did not quite happen and for the Jaguars they continued to put their foot on the gas.
It was always important for me to give our best performance in every game because that is how we bring about big changes to become true champions. In the beginning that didn’t pay off losing to the Crinums in the final in the past but at the end of the day that is also important for us to be able to show ourselves that we can’t just perform when it matters, we need to perform throughout and perform even better at the end.
Jenny Van Dyk, Jaguars Head Coach
The head coach of the Jaguars, Janine Van Dyk, is the most successful coach in the history of the competition. She has led the team to seven finals and this time they did not taste defeat on their way to the grand finale.
Player of the Tournament: Izette Best Shooter: Lefebre Rademan Best Mid-Court: Bongiwe Msomi Best Defender: Nicola Smith
The Fireballs came 3rd in the whole completion as they edged the Stings 39-36 in the 3rd/4th playoff.
In next years’s competition, the same teams will feature in Division 1. The Kingdom Stars won 54-30 in the promotion/relegation playoff against the Aloes.
SKHU NKHOMPHELA/NETBALL SA
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