In what shapes as a defining game of a quickfire season, leaders of the pack Central Manawa and Mainland will clash for top of the table status in the Synergy Hair Netball League (SHNL) in Palmerston North, on Saturday.
Both teams have come through their opening two matches unscathed but with the season confined to just the one full round and without a final, there’s a lot riding on this match.
Lifting their performance in the last outing, Manawa will need to take another shift up to stifle the threat of the defending champions who beat them in last year’s grand final, and who hold top spot this season courtesy of a superior goal differential.
"Every week we’re looking to refine and sharpen our craft," Manawa co-captain Suraya Goss said. "We go back to the drawing board, we reflect on our performances and how we can be better. In last week’s game we stuck to our structures and our tasks better. And it was good to know that we could fight right through until the end.
"Now it’s about how we can find that fight and consistency for all four quarters and not just in the last quarter (which has happened in the previous two games), just looking for that full 60-minute performance of consistency.
"Every week should be a step up and us shifting up a gear. This week will be another really good challenge and opportunity for us to do that. So, this week’s about building again, looking at our work-ons, where we need to tidy up and just a good preparation going into what will be another tough match."
In her third season with Manawa, Goss, an agile and fleet-footed centre, is one of the elder states-women of the team, juggling a busy career in the halls of power with her love of netball.
After five years at Massey University in her home town of Palmerston North, Goss, 25, completed her Masters in Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) at the end of 2023, moving to Wellington in 2024 to take up a job with Te Pāti Māori Party Member of Parliament Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke as her advisor across communications, policy and research.
"That’s still keeping me on my toes, I love working with Hana. Coming to netball and being with Manawa is a really nice balance and outlet away from work because it gets quite hectic in that place (Parliament). I love the balance of having that mahi and then also my netball," she said.
Netball Central’s strong tradition of nurturing up-and-coming talent is evidenced once again with old hands like Goss and fellow co-captain Jessica Fagan-Pease at the forefront of guiding another young group through the transitional phases of the high performance pathway.
"I’m really, really enjoying this group," Goss said. "We’ve got what we call a bag of all sorts. There’s a range of experience, older players, then also our younger ones and our wider training squad members, who are all high school students.
"We’ve got a really cool mix of different age ranges and now it’s about bringing that all together. Everybody brings their own flair, their own skillset and it’s about putting it all together and putting our best foot forward on court."
With Manawa finishing runners-up in her first two seasons with the team, Goss has one burning personal goal in her third.
"Every season’s always the same for me, to better myself on and off the court, have fun, enjoy netball, but I guess the ultimate goal is to win the title. I’m in my third season now and I’m going for the gold," she said.
On her home court in Palmerston North this weekend, Goss has the perfect opportunity to help Manawa make a sizeable stand in front of friends and family.