Unbeaten through the key crossover matches, Auckland rivals Mount Albert Grammar School and Saint Kentigern College will meet in the Grand Final of the NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs at the Auckland netball Centre on Friday.
Both teams have built strong legacies in the 33-year history of the national Secondary Schools Champs with Mount Albert gunning for back-to-back titles while Saint Kentigern are looking to break a 10-year title drought.
Saint Kentigern has regularly finished second or third during the past 10 years since winning their only title in 2016 while Mount Albert have been champions on multiple occasions, both putting their stamp on the 2026 edition in style.
Four teams came into the Thursday鈥檚 final day of cross-over matches level on points with Mount Albert Grammar and Saint Kentigern maintaining their winning momentum to seal the deal while Wellington鈥檚 Scots College and St Mary鈥檚 College (Auckland) dropped out of the reckoning.
After a tight first half tussle with Wellington East Girls College, Mt Albert produced a big third quarter to forge a 48-41 win in the first outing of the day before coming under another stern challenge from Scot鈥檚 College.
In a high quality, entertaining and willing contest, Mt Albert, once again, relied on a defining third quarter to help them pull out a 33-29 win.
Unbeaten coming into the match, a plucky Scots College pushed them all he way with both sets of in-circle defensive pairings producing whole-hearted performances. Respective captains, in goalkeeper Aria Gardiner, for Mt Albert, and goal defence Destine Aleka, for Scots, were inspirational figures.
After an evenly contested and drawn first quarter (7-all), Scots College made a promising start on the resumption with their defenders continuing to apply the pressure to gain the early edge with well-won turnover ball.
Twice they gained early leads before Mt Albert provided their own defensive squeeze to eke out a narrow 16-14 lead at halftime. With both goal shoots playing strong and effective holding games, it was diminutive Mt Albert goal attack who changed up the momentum through her clever movement and ball skills.
Rare turnovers went in the Auckland team鈥檚 favour and with their strength highlighted at both ends of the court, it paid dividends while taking a toll on the Scots College team as Mt Albert stretched out to a 27-21 lead at the last break.
Facing an uphill battle, Scot College fought back admirably, narrowing the gap to three on a couple of occasions but Mt Albert stayed resolute with their strong through-court play, disruptive abilities and greater accuracy at both ends of the court.
Saint Kentigern relied on a big second half push before posting a 37-28 win over gritty Dunedin side, Columba College. Trailing by two at the first break, Saint Kentigern clawed their back to take a narrow 15-14 lead at halftime and then put their foot down.
Outscoring their opponents 22-14 in the second half pushed them into a prime position for the all-important clash to follow against St Mary鈥檚 College (Auckland).
Leading from start to finish, Saint Kentigern had the upper hand throughout the match with quarter leads of 10-7, 19-12 and 27-21 before a withering final quarter pushed them out to a well-credentialled 40-27 win. In an individual highlight Saint Kentigern goal shoot Marley Tangata-Toe scored 35 of her team鈥檚 goals.
It ended a disappointing day for St Mary鈥檚 (Auckland) who lost both their games when also succumbing 28-25 to their namesake St Mary鈥檚 College Wellington.
Finishing behind Mount Albert Grammar in second place in Pool E, Scots College will play Columba College in the play-off for third at 12.30pm on Friday. Columba, St Mary鈥檚 College Wellington and St Mary鈥檚 College (Auckland) all finished on equal points in Pool F behind Saint Kentigern but the Dunedin side second secured spot courtesy of goal differential.
The Grand Final between Mouth Albert Grammar and Saint Kentigern will be played at 1.40pm.
Live streaming and the draw can be accessed by visiting