At the top tier of this year’s Rathbones Summer League, which had 50 senior and four junior teams playing under the continued tireless organisation of Gill Queripel at Beau Sejour’s outdoor courts, Nourish edged HFL 5-4 in the final.
Their feat is more impressive given that Nourish are new to the league this season. They feature a few women’s Panthers players, but are largely a business team, most working for Nourish in some form.
‘We’re delighted, of course, with winning the league,’ captain Chris Robert said.
‘With it being our first year, it’s a real credit to everyone in the squad.
‘Everyone played their part throughout the season.’
The division brought in some big hitters and the play-offs were anyone’s to take, with draws being posted by several teams – including HFL against reigning champions Ben’s Bar – and several games coming down to one goal in a snappy format of just 2x4min.
Facing Imperium in the first semi-final, Nourish came flying out of the blocks and rocked Imperium back with the short tournament game, producing slick play to qualify.
The second semi re-matched Ben’s Bar and HFL in a game with everything. It was practically goal-for-goal until the final minute when HFL intercepted a stray pass and converted to a goal with their centre pass to come, allowing them to win by two.
Nourish came out strong in the final and HFL took time to find their stride, but in these short matches, you cannot give an inch.
HFL did make a late charge but the clock beat them and Nourish held on for their first title.
Robert praised the organisation of Queripel and her team and also highlighted the benefits of having such a league.
‘It’s a great way to get people from the workplace to go out and do a sport they’ve not done.
‘Especially males – there was probably a handful of people before that Summer League was introduced.
‘It’s a good advertisement for male netball.’
Division Two again proved very closely-contested, with many games being won by the one goal.
TGI won a great final against A Team. The ball was up and down the court quickly and A Team missing a couple of shots was all they needed, running out 9-6 winners.
The Division Three final had Safferys showing their maturity and skill, not giving Trident Trust the chance to settle down.
By the time Trident had sorted out their feed to Lennon White, the game was out of reach, and so Safferys won 7-4.
Division Four became an evenly-matched group, with many very close and unpredictable games.
Mixed Bag successfully took on Red Socks in a hard-fought, exciting final, stopping the flow of the ball to their opponent’s shooting circle and finding their own range to win 8-4.
Division Five produced some very up-and-down scores as the teams came to grips with the short-format game, many having not played a netball tournament before.
Blanchelande – earlier winners of a battle of the schools against LVS Bolt – overcame BBC 8-3 in a hard-fought final where the score did not reflect the game, every player being made to work hard for the ball.
In Division Six, Grant Thornton avenged a comprehensive first-round defeat to All Sorts with a quite dominant performance.
Grant Thornton were on it, their shooters were on fire and centre-court making life very difficult for All Sorts, ultimately winning 8-2.
In the women’s top flight, PF+A picked up where they left off in a wonderful Winter League season.
They had won the Division One title, conquered the ‘Uptons’, and here they were beating Goal Diggers to take the women’s summer silverware.
This very competitive Division One had many final winners from previous years facing each other.
Goal Diggers qualified in straightforward fashion, beating BCOS 8-4, but PF+A merely edged past Cosmos 9-8 as their opponents ran out of time to get a critical shot away.
In the final, Holly Meagher was on fire for PF+A and every chance she got she scored, and while Goal Diggers fought hard, they could not close the gap and lost 7-3.
‘Another achievement and one that every single player should be so proud of,’ experienced member Kyra-Lea Butcher said.
‘From being Winter League Division One champions and Uptons champions, to now finishing off the season as Division One women’s Summer League champions, what an unbelievable journey.
‘This team has gone from strength to strength, proving that hard work, dedication, commitment, and believing in each other really does pay off.’
Aztec won the Division Two women’s crown 7-2 from White Wild.
In an end-to-end match, Aztec’s Lauren Roberts – back on court after a year away due to injury – excelled in her shooting role to make it a surprisingly clear victory.
Altogether, the league had the top courts in action Monday through Thursday for eight weeks, bringing plenty of new faces and fresh talent into the sport.
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