NNA’s under-17 rep side plays its way into North West Regional League division two decider

Narrabri Netball Association’s under-17 representative side did the entire Narrabri Shire proud at the weekend when it travelled to Tamworth to play in Netball NSW’s North West Regional League division two tournament.

The team is made up of players from Narrabri and Wee Waa, most of whom are only 16 this year.

They played against some older and stronger opposition on the day as the tournament was open grade and three of the NNA side’s four opponents had mostly senior players on their rosters.

Tamworth’s division two team was also made up entirely of under-17s players, and impressively, it was the hosts and the Narrabri team that met in the final on Sunday afternoon.

The NNA girls had placed third on the ladder after they won four of their eight matches ahead of the finals, while Tamworth finished on top after winning all eight of its games.

The NNA side then came up against the second-placed Glen Innes in the semi-final and it scored a 16-14 win to advance to the grand final.

Tamworth earned its ninth win of the weekend in the semi-finals when it downed fourth-placed side Inverell 38-16, and the hosts made it 10 from 10 when they defeated the Narrabri team 36-11 in the decider.

NNA president Tracey Tomlinson told The Courier that she was proud of the team and its brilliant achievements across the weekend.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work the girls have put in so far,” she said.

“They are a very young division two team and have loads of potential.

“The girls have pulled off some great wins against more experienced teams, but I believe the best is yet to come.

“It will be exciting to watch their progress throughout the season.”

Narrabri’s round one match at the Netball NSW North West Regional League division two tournament was on Saturday morning against the host team. It was a close contest early on, and the score was tied at half-time, but the Tamworth side ran away to win 32-20.

Narrabri then met Inverell in round two and went down 19-16 in a much closer contest before it sat out with a bye in round three.

The NNA girls took on Glen Innes in round four and went the closest they had come to a win so far at the event, but Glen Innes prevailed 12-11.

Narrabri then earned its first victory of the tournament in round five when it outscored Armidale 18-13. However, it suffered a fourth loss in its fifth game when it was downed 39-12 by Tamworth in round six.

The seventh-round games were the last to be played on Saturday, and the NNA side ended the day on a high as it defeated Inverell 15-13.

That result meant that Narrabri was still in the running to finish in third place on the ladder if it won its two matches the next day. It managed to achieve that after it sat out with the round eight bye as it defeated Glen Innes 14-12 and then knocked over Armidale 24-17.

The NNA team’s coach is Kerry Crutcher, who is also the association’s carnival convenor this year.

Crutcher said she was impressed with the team’s performance at its first carnival of the year and added that seeing the girls gel so well together as the weekend went on was pleasing.

“They played really well,” Crutcher said.

“They started slow, but this was their first competition since they were all selected together late last year.

“A lot of the other associations had already started comps and had been to rep carnivals, but our girls started fresh.

“They did really well, and after being a bit underdone on the first day with their fitness, they dug deep and got a couple of wins late on that first day that put them in a place where they could come back the next day and win their way into the semis.

“And they were able to do that.

“Being an opens division and our girls all being 16 this year except for two who are 17, we were pretty outdone in terms of size in the semi-final against Glen Innes. Physicality was a big thing in that game, but our girls muscled up and took the hits.

“There were some clutch goals to keep us in the game and one at the end to make sure we didn’t end up in extra time. It was exciting and nerve-racking, but they did well.

“Then the final was really fast. The Tamworth girls are extremely athletic and have speed all down the court. They have amazing agility in defence and in their shooting circle, and they have no weak links.

“We just had to do some counter defence to slow their attack, but their fitness was better than ours, and their speed was unbelievable.”

The NNA side will now travel to play at representative carnivals in Coffs Harbour, Tamworth and Newcastle ahead of Netball NSW’s 2023 Senior State Titles, which will be contested in Newcastle from Saturday, June 10, to Monday, June 12.

The NNA side is expected to be placed in division four in the under-17s this year, and Crutcher said she expected her girls to be competitive up towards the top of the table at this year’s event.