Update by Chan Hui Mui/Red Sports

NSL Round 1

Lin Qingyi of the Mighty Mannas (red GK) challenges her Malaysian Arowanas opponent for a lob. The Arowanas eventually won the match 36-30. (Photo courtesy of Netball Singapore)

Jurong East Sports Hall, Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14, 2010 – Malaysian Arowanas and Sneakers Stingrays both had perfect starts over the opening weekend of the Netball Super League (NSL) 2010, winning both their matches.

Malaysian Arowanas beat the Mighty Mannas and M1 Sunfish 36-30 and 54-29 respectively while Sneakers Stingrays had a similar winning record, beating M1 Sunfish and Bedok Kings Vipers, 43-36 and 43-30 respectively.

In the match between Malaysian Arowana and Mighty Mannas, the locals started as favourites, with most spectators expecting the team to cruise through their match. However, the Malaysians Arowanas surprised their opponents with some good team work and play to win the match 36-30.

In the second match, the Arowanas thumped the Singapore youth team, M1 Sunfish, 54-29. The M1 Sunfish stood no chance against their opponents who dominated the whole match.

Adidas Sneakers Stingrays is the other team with maximum points from last weekend's games.

In their opening match, they played the M1 Sunfish. The M1 Sunfish started well and were leading for two quarters before the Sneakers Stingrays came back in the third quarter to exert their experience and strength against their younger opponents. It was a hard fought match but eventually, the Stingrays won 43-36.

In their second match, the Stingrays displayed tight defence to beat Bedok Kings 43-30.

In the other matches, Nike Marlins, who were leading at the start of the fourth quarter, were unable to keep their slim three-goal lead and allowed the Mannas to take the last quarter. As a result, Mannas eventually won the match 33-32. Tan Huiyan, playing in her 11th NSL, produced a fine shooting performance of 79% to lead the Mighty Mannas to victory.

In another match, the Bedok Kings Vipers, comprising of mostly expatriate players from Australia and New Zealand, lost to the Magic Dolphins 27-32. Despite having a slight physical advantage, the Vipers were not able to contain their opponents.

Magic Dolphins and Nike Marlins have played one game less than their rivals this weekend. The games continue this week at the Jurong East SRC on Saturday from 4pm and on Sunday from 11am.