Rising netball stars in the junior grades are certainly leading the way in this years club netball season.
Under 10, 12 and 15 age grade netballers have been nothing but committed to netball this season with some fantastic games from all junior grades from the six clubs on Rarotonga.
While the future of netball certainly produced thrilling games at the weekend there was disappointment all round with the number of default games on the day.
Without a doubt this is a concern for the Cook Islands Netball Association especially as the business end of the season draws near.
The majority of the defaulted games were from the Ngatangiia club teams who have struggled to field teams this year but have a strong showing in the junior grades.
In the under 10 division Avatiu, Tupapa and Titikaveka were the victors on the day against their opponents.
In the Takuvaine and Titikaveka game there was plenty of hustle on the ball with a more developed Titikaveka under 10 side cruising home to a 18-6 win against Takuvaine who fought hard through the whole game.
A number of the mini players in both the Titikaveka and Takuvaine under 10 grade then stepped up their game to play in the under 12 grade.
Titikaveka were just too strong for Takuvaine but Takuvaine supporters and coaches would have been proud of the determination of their players in what was a David and Goliath style game.
However, a staunch netball supporter commented that the smaller Takuvaine players who faced Titikaveka players twice their size will learn to play smart netball having to face tough competition at this early stage of their netball careers.
In the premier grade matches Avatiu won by default against Ngatangiia who havent fielded a premier grade team all season.
Titikaveka also registered a win by default against the Tupapa club.
The only premier grade that ran on Saturday was a tough match between Tupapa and Arorangi.
Both sides fought hard with their mixture of experienced heads and young players but it was the ever threatening Tupapa side that took the win by 10 points 60-50 against a valiant Arorangi side.
This weekend marks the final round of netball games before the season heads into the knockout, semis and grand finals weekend.
- Matariki Wilson
Full results
Under 10 Avatiu 17 vs Ngatangiia 10, Under 10 Arorangi 10 vs Tupapa 12
Under 10 Titikaveka 18 vs Takuvaine 6, Under 12 Avatiu 35 vs Ngatangiia 1, Under 12 Arorangi 6 vs Tupapa 13, Under 12 Titikaveka 26 vs Takuvaine 0, Under 15 Avatiu 22 vs Ngatangiia 8, Under 15 Arorangi 18 vs Tupapa 15, Under 15 Titikaveka 40 vs Takuvaine 4, Junior Open Avatiu won by default against Ngatangiia, Junior Open Arorangi 22 vs Tupapa 36, Junior Open Titikaveka 44 vs Takuvaine 22, Open 2 Avatiu won by default against Ngatangiia, Open 2 Tupapa won by default against Arorangi, Open 2 Titikaveka 20 vs Takuvaine 2, Open 1 Avatiu won by default against Ngatangiia, Open 1 Tupapa won by default against Arorangi, Open 1 Titikaveka 29 vs Takuvaine 31, Reserve Avatiu 62 vs Ngatangiia 49, Reserve Arorangi 54 vs Tupapa 64, Reserve Titikaveka 46 vs Takuvaine 36, Premier Avatiu won by default against Ngatangiia, Premier Arorangi 50 vs Tupapa 60, Premier Titikaveka won by default against Takuvaine.