Rezzers Black push T&T hard ahead of Plate quest

A fine team effort from Resolution IT Black could not stop Donna Brehaut’s side triumphing 39-32 on Tuesday night, signing off on a win before the league splits and they have only the title-battling Rezzers Green and Blaze A for company.

Those top-two teams have avoided any upsets thus far from the new-look Purples, formerly Titans, who have likewise stayed unbeaten by the bottom four.

But that record nearly faltered at Grammar School as the fourth-placed Blacks gave them a real run for their money.

WD Shannon Carr’s intercepts made her a major cog in Rezzers’ effective whole-court defence, ultimately earning her player-of-the-match for a side that fought to the end with an unchanged seven.

For the former Titans, old stalwarts proved pivotal again as centre Charlotte Hill earned a third straight ‘POM’, fuelling the shooting efforts of Brehaut and Steph Batiste.

Some of their newer faces also impressed amid the absences of Lydia McClean and injured defender Anais Flatres.

The Purples won quarter one with a modest three-point lead and the gap was no bigger at half-time – 18-15.

T&T shifted their defence to introduce B team star Sophie Cowley, then injury to WA Claire Jennings disrupted them into further changes.

That did not stop the pace of scoring picking up in the third quarter, which ended 29-25, before an injection of unanswered T&T goals in the last 5min. settled the game.

‘We were in front and in control of the game but it didn’t always seem like that, so credit to Rezzers Black,’ captain Brehaut said.

‘We had a slowish start and took time to settle – it wasn’t our best performance as at times we were a little rushed, but it was a good finish and we are pleased to come out with the win.’

Blacks captain and GK Lois Batiste admitted she didn’t expect such a close match.

‘They are a more experienced team, so when we started and saw it was going well, it was an interesting one,’ she said.

‘We kept going and perhaps did not convert all of our chances.’

Batiste added she is ‘really confident’ for the bottom-four Plate competition, which will be decided on just three games per team this season.

‘We are looking forward to having Anna Trump back [from work commitments] and she gives us an extra boost in attack. There’s no reason we cannot go ahead and win our games.’

Overall, Brehaut has remained satisfied despite her team’s slip from title contention.

‘This year was always going to be a bit of a transitional one for us,’ she said while highlighting lost players like the mother-daughter duo of Lorna Hall and Kerri Brown.

‘Anais, in particular, has really come into the team and shown her class. It’s such a shame we have lost her for the season.

‘It was always going to take us a while to gel as a new outfit but Amy Le Tocq has done very well, and Mhairi [McGill] as a new player who came over.

‘We are pleased with the performances we have put on, but we have fallen a bit short against Rezzers and Blaze,’ she added ahead of the three top teams facing each other once more post-split.

Rezzers Green are certainly firing on all cylinders ahead of next week’s decisive meeting with Blaze.

The champions and leaders defeated Liberte NGT A 73-17 at Les Beaucamps, again using the sharp shooting of teenage step-up Emma Sykes.

GA Sykes played a starring ‘POM’ role among her highly experienced teammates, helping fire them to an outstanding quarter score of 20-2.

Rezzers went on to hit half-time leading 36-5 and end quarter three at 54-10.

New GD Tiff Stewart earned Liberte ‘POM’ with some good intercepts that impressed the more-experienced Tiff, Rezzers captain Gervaise-Brazier.

‘Despite the scoreline, it was fairly well-contested,’ Gervaise-Brazier said.

‘It was a good chance for us to try some new things and set challenges per quarter in terms of turnovers or goals and attacking or defensive set plays. I think defensively in particular, we were turning over the ball or forcing errors and converting.’

Blaze got their five points in straightforward fashion as their B team could not field a side.