The year 4 Dolphins team at their very first game of netball. Photo Duana Upchurch

This week saw all nine of the Fullers 360 Waiheke Dolphins teams start their season with grading games.

On Saturday, College 1 played Kristin 2 and College 2 played Wentworth 2. These opponents are from two large schools and are their schools’ second strongest teams. 

Both Waiheke teams had strong games but came away with losses, which is part of grading as they find their correct place in their grades.

Year 8 played Kristin Intermediate which was the second highest performing team for their age group in 2018 so it was a challenging team to play for the first game of the season. 

The Waiheke girls put in a strong performance. Belle Gowning was player of the day for her strong overall performance and playing out of her normal position. 

Unfortunately, the team lost 29-1 but are determined to come back fighting next week.

Year 6/1 played St John Y6/1 and unfortunately went down 25-3. Player of the day was Zary Dromgoole for her high energy on the court.

Year 6/2 played Hauraki Y6/1, with Hauraki winning 15-3. Player of the day was Pippa Venn for her really strong defence.

Year 5 played on Wednesday and started the season strongly with a great game against Northcote. The girls gave it their all, with player of the day going to Zaria Te Rore for getting stuck in and playing an excellent defensive game. The final score was 9-3 to Northcote.

The Waiheke Dolphins year 4 team had their first game last week. Once they got over the initial nerves and settled into the game, there were some great moments. With no substitutes, the team showed good teamwork, good moving and finding their space on court and watching the ball, allowed a few intercepts and scored a great goal from Benji Niwa. They went down 6-1 but their coach is super proud of the team’s performance and is looking forward to next week.

Thanks go to sponsors Fullers 360 and The New Hope shop for their generosity and support. •

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