North Harbour women win second consecutive Suzuki National Water Polo League title

Another season of the Suzuki National Water Polo League comes to an end, with the North Harbour Hammerheads defending their title to become back-to-back champions of the premier domestic competition for women in New Zealand.

The league acts as an opportunity for national squad members, plus the next generation of New Zealand Water Polo talent, to play in a competitive interclub environment.

After seven weeks of round robin matches, the 2024 Suzuki Women's National Water Polo League culminated in two days of exciting finals action at the Diocesan Aquatic Centre in Auckland. 

Semi-finals were held on Saturday 5 October, which saw a closely contested match between Canterbury and Marist - where Marist edged ahead to win by a goal, followed by North Harbour taking the win by three goals over Atlantis City. 

Marist and North Harbour faced off the following day for the national title, while Canterbury and Atlantis City contested the bronze medal match.

North Harbour won their second consecutive Suzuki National Water Polo League title in a 6-9 victory over Marist, with the team backing up their impressive performance from the 2023 season. Atlantis City took the win over Canterbury in the 3rd/4th place match, scoring 11 goals to Canterbury's 7 to take the bronze medal.

Bridget Layburn (North Harbour) was named Most Valuable Player, while Tasma Woolley (North Harbour) was top goal scorer of the league.

A big thank you to Niki Paterson (@kiwimade22_sport) for the awesome photos from the Suzuki National League finals!