Holmwood look to retain Rural Area netball double
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Holmwood Technical hunt their sixth straight Senior League title and their second consecutive Junior crown when they face Denbigh High in both finals of the ISSA/Digicel Rural Area schoolgirl netball competition at Manchester High today.
With all four teams boasting unbeaten records, both finals are expected to be marquee match-ups with the junior decider, perhaps, offering a better scope for an upset seeing that it will be a grudge match.
Both teams were comfortable semi-final winners — Holmwood easing past Herbert Morrison Technical, 27-9, while Denbigh turned back surprise package Belfield High, 23-16, to set up a repeat of last season’s final and will now be looking to avenge last season’s defeat.
In the senior encounter, Holmwood, the reigning All-Island champs, have for the last five years become a winning machine and are showing no signs of dropping that habit any time soon.
They cruised through the entire competition and looked even more potent in the latter stages, scoring a big 54-7 semi-final win over former champions Herbert Morrison to book their final berth.
Denbigh, who got by Manning’s School, 29-12, in their semi-finals, won their last title eight years ago and might feel that another championship is long overdue.
But breaking the drought will mean that they will have to pay close attention to Holmwood’s explosive attacking duo Deneen Taylor and Sara-Kaye Palmer.
The Christine Bartleycoached Clarendon girls will, however, take heart in the fact they have within their machinery the lanky Crishena Copeland, Gillene Graham and Jovan Benjamin.
Action begins with the Junior League decider at 1:00 pm.