Maitland Under-15s have won promotion to the top flight next year after being crowned State Division 2 champions at the State Senior Netball titles in Sydney over the King's Birthday long weekend..
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In a huge weekend for the Maitland teams, the Open team finished third in Champions Division matching last year's historic result on their home courts and the Under-17s narrowly missed out on a top 10 finish in Division 2.
Cessnock Under-17s had an outstanding tournament finishing 9th in Division 2, while Cessnock's Open and Under-15 teams both finished second in Division 3 and are likely to earn promotion to Division 2 next year.
Maitland won the Under-15 Division 2 title on for and against after finishing equal on 25 points with Barellan and District with both sides claiming 12 wins and a draw from their 14 matches.
Barellan defeated Maitland 19-17 in the final game on Sunday, but the Maitland girls won all four matches on Monday including a pivotal 35-12 win against Bathurst in their final game of the tournament to ensure a healthier points for and against record.
Their final day results included wins against Macleay (20-14), Gosford (17-10) and Blue Mountains (23-19).
The Opens top three finish is yet another remarkable result in a division which featured the cream of NSW netball including powerful Sydney-based associations such as Manly and Randwick.
They finished on 29 points with 14 wins, four losses and a draw. They were three behind last year's champion Newcastle in second and seven behind newly crowned champions Northern Suburbs who dropped just one game over the tournament.
Maitland kept off a late charge by fourth-placed Hills District winning four matches and earning a draw with Sutherland.
They beat Illawarra 22-21 in a thriller before a 17-17 draw with Sutherland and an upset 17-13 loss to Penrith.
They then had wins against Lismore (22-18), Eastwood (15-18) and Ku-ring gai (22-13).
Maitland's Under-17s finished 11th with seven wins and one draw, while Cessnock were ninth with 10 wins including an 18-14 victory against Maitland.
Cessnock were second in Opens Division 3 and Under-15 Division 3, while `Kurri Kurri were 15th in Under-15s and eighth in Opens. Kurri Kurri's men's team were seventh in Division 2 with three wins and two draws.
Michael Hartshorn
Since starting in 1985 at the then Melbourne Herald, journalism has taken me around Australia from Victoria, to the Northern Territory, Cairns in Queensland and now Port Stephens. After all those years there is still something special about informing and connecting with readers.
Since starting in 1985 at the then Melbourne Herald, journalism has taken me around Australia from Victoria, to the Northern Territory, Cairns in Queensland and now Port Stephens. After all those years there is still something special about informing and connecting with readers.
