Southern Sting
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| Founded | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Disbanded | 2007 |
| Based in | Invercargill, Southland |
| Home venue | Stadium Southland |
| Head coach | Robyn Broughton |
| Captain | Jenny Ferguson |
| League | National Bank Cup |
| 2007 placing | Champions (7 times) |
The Southern Sting were a netball team based in Invercargill, New Zealand that competed in The National Bank Cup competition, formerly known as the Coca Cola Cup.
The Southern Sting team won the National Bank Cup seven times and are the only team to have competed in all 10 of the finals of the competition.
In 2008, the Sting were merged with Otago Rebels to compete as the Southern Steel in the trans-tasman ANZ Championship. The new Southern Steel are still based in Invercargill and play the majority of their matches on the Sting's home court, Stadium Southland.
1998 Season (Sting first)
Sting's website entry: 1998 season
1998 was the beginning of the Sting phenomenon. Ascot Park Hotel Southern Sting was not even ranked by pundits at the start of the new Coca-Cola Cup season and franchise holder Southern TeamCo was hoping for a top four finish.
But the team had other ideas, and so did its supporters. From day one, Southlanders were behind the team and players were astonished when they arrived for their first game at Centennial Hall on Friday, March 27. The car park and surrounding streets were full and the game was a sell-out.
The starting lineup against the Auckland Diamonds was Donna Loffhagen and Camille Grubb shooting, Kirsty Broughton, Tasha Marshall and Reinga Bloxham through the mid-court and Bernice Mene and Michelle Krynen on defence. Debbie Munro came into the shooting circle in the third quarter and Southern Sting won 55-51, a major boost to the team, which then went on to Christchurch to another win, this time against the Canterbury Flames, 55-53, on Sunday, March 29.
The team had another double-header the next weekend, with both games at home in front of sell-out crowds. The first game, against the Waikato Wildcats, was a walk-over, with Sting winning easily 78-41. On the Sunday it was a different story. Sting was up against the favourites, the Otago Rebels, and lost 54-61, but the fans never bagged the team.
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Wikipedia