These two sides met unbeaten at the end of Day 1 before Canterbury dished out a heavy beating to Harbour. This didn't change the fact that both sides finished in the top two and therefore met first up in Day 2 in a playoff to decide who proceeds directly to the final.
Canterbury continued yesterday's impressive form by scoring in the first minute of play and Kate Calder had scored again soon after to make it 2-0 before Harbour could adapt to the pace of the match.
Canterbury began to show their class, running the Harbour defence ragged and creating opportunities almost at will. Stacey Lene was clever in a playmaking role for Canterbury and set up Renee Puru for a touchdown before grabbing one of her own soon after.
With the score at 4-0, Harbour looked out of it but grabbed a lifeline through their playmaker Delicia Wipa, who dived under to score following momentum from an interception made a couple of plays earlier. At halftime the score remained 4-1 in favour of Canterbury.
The second half turned into a slower paced affair, with Canterbury appearing to sit on their considerable lead and Harbour unable to take the correct options when in scoring positions. As time began to run out, Canterbury scored a quickfire double through Bianca Nuku and Karen Miles. Harbour scored a consolation touchdown through an impressive set play but it was too late for a comeback. Final score 6-2, Canterbury moving forward to the final while Harbour must win a playoff to secure their berth.
Last Modified on 28/02/2012 09:56