History on Tysons side ahead of final

Continuing history is a big driver for Tysons East ahead of their final in the Bayleys premier netball league on Saturday.

The club is aiming for seven consecutive titles when they play Inglewood at the TSB Stadium in the premier one finale.

Since 1998, Tysons has secured 12 championships, including this current string of titles and three in-a-row between 1990-2001.

Captain Tiaan Taylor is blown away by the record.

“That’s quite a tradition to continue and a real powerful driver for us as a team,” she said.

“It’s kind of hard not to know about that [history] but it’s a pretty awesome achievement for our club,” she said.

The road to the final has looked easy for Tysons. They were unbeaten during both grading and the two round competition which included a solid 68-43 win against Raukura.

Taylor said credited Raukura on their season.

“Coming up from prem [premier] twos and making it to the top four of prem one, that’s an awesome achievement and their team should be stoked with that effort.”

During the semifinal, Tysons were starting to work as a unit and making connections from one end of the court to the other. They’ve been trying to stay disciplined to do the basics well and letting the ball do the work.

Ahead of the match on Saturday, Taylor pointed out some solid match ups in the goal circle with Tysons’ Amber Ormond against Central Pulse defender Parris Mason and Inglewood captain Mecheala Major marking Connie Clement.

Tysons have beaten Inglewood three times this year, but Taylor said that means nothing heading into a final.

“Finals netball is a different game altogether regardless that we’ve beaten Inglewood. Finals means it’s anyone’s game, we have to play the whole 60 minutes and keep grinding away.”

Major is aware of Tysons’ record in the competition.

“It would be naive of us to not acknowledge and respect the history of Tyson’s winning reign.”

But she believes every year is a fresh start and a new opportunity for a club to earn the title.

Inglewood came second after the regular season and had a 64-36 win against Stratford/Elthma in the semifinals, despite a close first quarterfinal.

Major said a title on Saturday would mean a great deal to the club and community of Inglewood with the club’s premier two team in a final and the rugby side winning the competition.

“There has been a vast amount of development and growth across the club and this would be a great way to conclude the season.”

Centre pass is at 4:30pm.

The Taranaki Championships start at 8:30am, premier three final is at 12:30pm and premier two finale starts at 2:30pm.

Netball Taranaki Finals Day, Saturday August 14, TSB Stadium: 

Taranaki Championships (satellite winners), 8:30am: Tukapa Daimonds, Eltham A, Hawera High School Rimu; Premier 3 final, 12:30pm: Bell Block vs The Locals; Premier 2 final, 2:30pm: Naumai vs Inglewood; Premier 1 final, 4:30pm: Tysons East vs Inglewood