Pelorus, Tokomaru to battle for premier netball crown
The stage is set for an intriguing Marlborough premier netball final on Saturday. On opposite sides of the Stadium 2000 court will be “country cousins” – Pelorus Edridge Contracting and Tokomaru Crafar Crouch Picton. Last Tuesday the two finalists booked their places in the premiership decider, pushing aside SMOG and Harlequins respectively, two clubs who have almost exclusively dominated the local premier scene for the past few decades. Toko took out the premier crown in 2017, a rare interruption of the SMOG/Quins dominance, while Pelorus are yet to get their name on the trophy. In fact, this year’s premier final will be their first trip to the “big dance”. Courtney Taufa, the Pelorus player/coach, is excited to be part of a squad on the cusp of creating history. “Last year was out the first semi in 18 years and this year we have made the final, so that’s awesome. “Toko will be tough … they play with their heart on their sleeve and give it their all, so we have got to come out firing.” Taufa said Pelorus had a simple recipe for success. “We work for each other … have each other’s backs.” Tokomaru…