PacificAus Sports Netball Series Wrap

Tonga Tala have taken out the second PacificAus Sports Netball Series grand final against the Samoa Tifa Moana by 26 goals in an epic showdown.
 
It was a pulsating week of netball on the Sunshine Coast with six teams competing across six days of action. 
 
The Series provided high-level competition for the national teams of Netball Australia’s PacificAus Sports partners – Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa and Tonga.  
 
Also invited to take part were USC Thunder and the Australian Pathways team.  
 
Teams competed in a round robin format with five rounds played out before the grand final.  
 
Tonga Tala went through the entire tournament undefeated, winning convincingly against all opponents.  
 

Throughout the Series, Tonga continued to build their squad and combinations heading into the 2023 Netball World Cup as one of two Oceania Qualifiers, giving a further three players their senior international debuts.  

In a rebuilding phase, the Samoa Tifa Moana had eight players debut during the Series, as they look to the future. The Fiji Pearls, also Oceania qualifiers for the 2023 Netball World Cup debuted six players whilst the PNG Pepes had five debutants. 
 
Here’s a round by round breakdown of the Series.  
 
Round One 
In the first match of the Series, Samoa Tifa Moana came out of the blocks strong with a 13-goal lead early before the Australian Pathways team worked their way into the game. Samoa’s shooters Larika Malagaoma, Monalisa Groom and Fia Laikong had great connection with each other and were accurate in the goal circle. Samoa Tifa Moana defeated the Australian Pathways team 52 to 46. 

Sunshine Coast’s USC Thunder came out firing against the PNG Pepes with a strong first half before the Pepes came back in the third quarter to lead by a goal heading into the fourth. However, the Thunder met the challenge head on and pulled away to take a 13-goal win 60 to 47. PNG’s shooters Goloa Ovoa and Rayleen Andrew were skilful in their attack end, however, Thunder defender Jada Delaney was quick to read the play and pick up a lot of ball. 

In the final match of round one, the Tonga Tala set off on their winning streak. Leading the first half of the match by 11 goals. Tonga then doubled their lead with their feeders easily finding target Uneeq Palavi under the post throughout the third quarter. Fiji lifted throughout the fourth, but it was too late with the final score 74 to 55.  

 

Round Two
The competition went up a notch in round two with the Fiji Pearls and Samoa Tifa Moana playing out a nail-biter. Samoa started the match the stronger of the two sides, winning the first quarter by three goals. Fiji closed the gap and by half time were ahead by seven goals. Samoa charged in the third quarter to only be one goal down at the final break. The Fiji Pearls fumbled in the final few minutes and Samoa capitalised to take a 56 to 59 win. Sisavaii Muliaga stepped up for the Tifa Moana, taking on an unfamiliar defensive role for most of the match, with Kara Adrole anchoring the Samoans at goal keeper. Roma Waqa had a solid cameo for the Fiji Pearls in the midcourt, while Una Rauluni showed her skills throughout the match at goal attack. 

The USC Thunder and Australian Pathways team also went head-to-head in round two. The first half was a seesawing affair with the Thunder in front at half time. However, the Australian Pathways team came out strong in the third quarter and established a seven-goal lead. The Pathways team enlisted some fresh legs for the final quarter and further extended their lead to take the match by 14 goals. Ellie Brice was a standout for the USC Thunder, rotating through three different positions while for the Pathways team Jayden Molo’s speed and strength saw her dominate through the midcourt.  

Tonga Tala were in control from the get-go in their round two clash with the PNG Pepes. Tonga led by 26 goals at half time allowing them to utilise their entire bench throughout the second half. Tala’s scoring capacity slowed during the second half of the match and the Pepe’s produced a solid third quarter. The fourth quarter saw Tonga’s intensity lift to win the match 83 to 45. The Pepe’s Sarah Harris was impressive running the full match in centre. For the Tala, the defensive unit was tight knit even with lots of changes. 

 

Round Three 
The young Australian Pathways team continued to improve each match and their round three meeting with the Fiji Pearls was no different. The Australian side took a 14 to 8 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Australians further increased their lead to be up by 15 goals at the main break. Fiji offered some resistance in the third but struggled in the fourth quarter eventually going down 58 to 46. Up-and-coming Australian Georgie Cleaver was strong in goal attack while Lilyana Rennie and Gemma Hutchings formed a good defensive combination. For Fiji, Una Rauluni was everywhere, bringing her teammates into the match from goal attack.  

The USC Thunder went into their round three match against the Tonga Tala without their captain and starting goal attack Annie Lawrie. As a result, the side struggled with their attacking play early but went to the first break only five goals down. The second quarter saw Tonga push out the lead further with some great passages of play to lead by 12 at half time. Even with some changes in the third, the Tongan juggernaut rolled on to take an 18-goal lead into the last. All 12 of Tonga’s side rotated onto the court throughout the fourth quarter to win by 20 goals. Tala’s Silia Setefano, donning the wing attack bib, was solid for the Tala while Losa Fifita had a great showing in wing defence. Thunder’s Ellie Brice had a tough challenge in centre up against Tongan captain Hulita Veve but had some great moments throughout the match.  

Samoa Tifa Moana had a big win over the PNG Pepes in round three. Samoa came out the stronger of the two teams until PNG found some rhythm and equalled the scores before Samoa went on a scoring run to lead by six at the end of the first quarter. With Larika Malagaoma dominating in goal shooter, the Tifa Moana went to half time up by 17 goals, doubling the Pepe’s score. The second half saw the youngest athlete in the Series, Sayonara Alaalatoa make her international debut for Samoa at just 15 years of age, coming on at wing attack. Samoa went to the final break up by 22 goals and they continued to charge to the final whistle to win 65 to 38. Rayleen Andrew played well for the Pepes, finding nice space and was accurate when going for goal.  

 

Round Four 
The Australian Pathways team came up against Tonga Tala to start round four. There was lots of back and forth in the opening minutes of the match before Tonga went up a notch to pull away to a nine-goal lead. They continued to push on in the second to lead by 15 at half time. The momentum stayed with the Tala into the third with Uneeq Palavi holding good position and nailing her shots down one end whilst Lose Fainga'anuku was strong in goal keeper at the other. The Tongans went into the fourth with a 19-goal lead, however, changes to their seven on court gave the Australian Pathways team the opportunity to narrow the lead. Led by captain Hulita Veve in centre the Tonga Tala were too good and won 65 to 38. Gemma Hutchings from the Australian team gave her everything in goal keeper, however, the stronger and more experienced Palavi was unstoppable.  

Humming is the only way to describe the PNG Pepes attack in the opening quarter of their round four match up with Fiji. The Pepes jumped into gear early, stunning the Fijian side to take a three-goal lead at the first break. The lead got out to eight in the second quarter before the Pearls reeled it back in to be even at half time, 29 a-piece. The Fijian defensive duo of Alisi Naqiri and Josephine Tabua started to gain a lot more ball in the third quarter, helping the Pearls to a 10-goal lead at the last break. The final quarter was more of a Fijian flow, with them rolling on to take a 21-goal victory. Sarah Harris and Michaela Kadlecek were dynamite for the Pepes but struggled with the lack of supply. The Pearls welcomed back Maliana Rusivakula for this match, and both Rusivakula and Una Rauluni showed how a dynamic, moving circle can work.  

In the last match of round four, the USC Thunder came out strong against an undefeated Samoa Tifa Moana. The Thunder were impressive early in the quarter before some changes for the Tifa Moana enabled them to re-group and pull a few goals back, but they still trailed by 10 at half time. The third quarter was a closer affair, with plenty of rotations from the Samoans to only lose the quarter by two goals to be trailing by 12 at the last break. Thalia Uilelea and Lisa Makaohi were trying hard in the defensive end for the Tifa Moana but lacked the height to compete with the aerial game of Thunder’s Annika Lee-Jones in goal shooter. A final score of 58 to 44 saw the USC Thunder take the win by 14 goals. For the Thunder, Jada Delaney and Lily McClure were impressive, shutting down all four of the Samoan shooters throughout the match. 
 

Round Five 
Despite missing two players through injury, the young Australians showed why they are the future of Australian Netball in their final game of the tournament against the PNG Pepes. Building nicely through the week, the Australian Pathways team went to the first break up by 10. The Pathways team pushed the lead out further by half time. Led by excellent work from Jasmah Haywood and Lily Graham, shooting at 85%, the Aussies built a solid lead, going into the final quarter 47-32. The plucky Pepes, searching for their first win, put out a much better second half, matching it with their young counterparts, only losing the second half by a single goal. The leadership team of Michaela Kadlecek and Sarah Harris did all they could to pull their Pepes team along, with the final score favouring the Pathways team 60 to 45. 
 
It was a game of two halves between the Fiji Pearls and the USC Thunder in the second match of the day, with the invitational Thunder team jumping out to a seven-goal lead in the first quarter. The Thunder made some changes going into the second quarter with the team comprised of Sapphire and Ruby Series players going into half time up by nine. The Pearls ignited at half time and came out with purpose, determined to get their second win before their Series ended, eating into the lead to only be down by three with 15 minutes to go. The attacking combination of Lydia Panapasa, Maliana Rusivakula and Unaisi Rauluni proved to be dangerous, with the defensive end of Alisi Naqiri and Kalesi Tawake also winning important ball – the Fijians storming home to take a four-goal win, 54 to 50. 
 
In what would be a grand final preview Tonga Tala and Samoa Tifa Moana faced off at the end of round five. The first quarter of the match was super competitive as the two Polynesian teams went head-to-head; Tonga just pulled away to take a three-goal lead after one quarter. The Tonga Tala came out fierce in the second quarter, getting out to a seven-goal lead, as the Tifa Moana made some defensive changes. But the Tongan show rolled on, led by a parochial crowd of Tala family and friends, to take a 10-goal lead into half time, 34-24. ‘Let’s go Tonga, let’s go’ rang out in the crowd early in the third, before Samoa rallied to reel in the lead back to seven but the Tongans stepped it up another notch before the final break, to lead 52-40. Solid as a rock in the shooting circle, Uneeq Palavi proved to be a tough challenge for the Samoans, who were down a key defender since round one of the Series. The Tongans welcomed their whole bench onto the court with just over four minutes. Still undefeated the Tonga Tala won by 24 goals.  
 

Grand Final - Tonga Tala vs Samoa Tifa Moana 
Undefeated throughout the Series, Tonga Tala was always going to be a tough challenge for Samoa Tifa Moana, however, the Samoan side got the jump early before Tonga Tala kicked into gear. 

Precise fingertip control and balance from Samoa’s goal shooter Larika Malagaoma kept the Samoans in touch during the first quarter, before the defensive pressure from the Tala, and the cheeky skills of an off the post play from Uneeq Palavi shot the Tongans out to a five-goal lead.  

Samoa made some defensive changes heading into the second quarter to try and combat the slick combination of Palavi, Marie Hansen, and the two feeders of Luana Aukafolau and Hulita Veve. Tonga escaped to a seven-goal lead but some good hustle from the Samoan attack end got them back to within four. Halfway through the second Lucia Fauonuku made way for Losa Fifita at wing defence for the Tala to shut down dynamite wing attack Ainsleyana Puleiata. A loose ball mistake on a throw in cost the Samoans with five minutes to go, but an unforced error in the Tongan attack gifted the opportunity back to Samoa. Samoa’s inability to convert cost them going into half time, down 32 to 25. 

The colourful Tongan crowd kept the stadium entertained at half time, before both teams retuned for a cracking second half. The Tifa Moana kept the defensive changes on the regular, trying to find an answer to Palavi and Hansen, but turnover opportunities remained rare. Kara Adrole read the ball well for one of those rarities but again on attack, they struggled to convert – the Tonga Tala out to a 11-goal lead halfway through the third quarter. A steal in the midcourt from Hansen brought the crowd into the game, as the Tongans stretched the lead to 15 goals. A fast break down the court, and a conversion from new goal attack Fia Laikong closed the gap to 13 goals with Samoa finally converting a much-needed turnover. Clare Iongi came out hunting and was rewarded, before a falling-out-of-court save from Palavi took the Tongans to a 16-goal lead going into the last quarter. 

The Tonga Tala continued to rain goals in the fourth quarter, inspired by a well-read steal in the midcourt from captain Hulita Veve – to hit a 20-goal lead with over 10 minutes remaining. After an outstanding first 50 minutes, Tala Coach Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson brought on some of her bench players to run out the match, with Ana Kailahi, Beyonce Palavi and Vika Koloto slotting nicely into the attack end. The Tongan singing started with one minute to go, and it was party time on the final whistle, the Tonga Tala taking out the champion title by 26 goals, 69-43. 

Tonga’s captain Hulita Veve was recognised as the Most Valuable Player for the grand final while Fiji’s Alisi Naqiri was named as the Series’ Most Valuable Player. Naqiri had a stellar tournament, anchoring a young and inexperienced defensive end for the Pearls, a real stalwart of the Fijian team.