Waikato's tight man-to-man defence, aerial game and accurate long-range shooting proved too much for the young Tasman side, which lacked the energy and focus they have displayed in their previous two matches. Nevertheless, they kept working and to some effect in the 13-all second quarter and did occasionally rattle the Waikato attack The accuracy of Waikato's shooters continues to impress, and 20-year-old defender Stephanie Fowlie also had a fine game.

Bay of Plenty's strong opening quarter featured excellent conversion of abundant possession, and set them up for a comfortable win, while Eastern was forced to play catch-up netball for the rest of the match. The middle quarter scores (12-8 and 13-10) reflect Eastern's success with turnover ball, but Bay of Plenty's confidence and experience kept them well in front. Shooter Malia Eyles again proved her worth for Eastern but her accuracy was matched by Bay of Plenty's Arahi Wall, from more attempts.

The return of Jodi Brown, who combined superbly with Jo Morrison for Otago, and unforced errors by Western were key factors in Otago's first win. Western's shooters did well with fewer opportunities, and standouts on defence were Jodi Beaumont, marking Morrison, and Lauren Burgess at wing defence.

North just missed adding a point to their competition tally, going down by six goals to Southland at AUT, North Harbour. Despite the absence of their inspirational player-coach Natalie Avellino (called up for test commentary duty by TVNZ), Southland proved too consistent and composed under pressure. After an even first quarter the 2008 champions established a narrow break which they maintained for the rest of the match. 
For North, young shooter Carli Botes continued her good form, posting the best statistics of the game, and Charmaine Smith did some very good work on defence, while Hayley Crofts stood out for Southland, driving effectively to the circle and ensuring a good supply of ball to her shooters. She was well-supported by Southland's powerful defensive combination of Te Huinga Selby-Rickit, Kylie Young, Dana Bond and Erika Burgess.

Canterbury had an early setback when experienced shooter Shelley Norris was injured and left the court in the opening minutes, but hard work by her team, especially Victoria Smith at goal keeper, centre Hannah Poff and shooter Ellen Halpenny, kept pace with Auckland Waitakere for much of the first quarter. However, Auckland Waitakere's mid-courters and goal attack Jade Topia began to find powerhouse shooter Cathrine Latu with ease, putting several attractive passages of play together through the two middle quarters they won 20-8 and 19-9. The northern side then brought on several bench players, and Canterbury made the most of some additional opportunities to draw the final quarter 13-all. Shooter Sophia Fenwick impressed for Canterbury in the second half, while Anna Scarlett's excellent timing on defence for Auckland Waitakere was a pleasure to watch.

Although Wellington was too strong for their hosts, Counties Manukau coach Ana Noovao is pleased with her team's progress and enjoyed the chance to put all but one of her players on court. She noted particularly the fine efforts of Toni Rinckes on defence and Ashleigh Timoko in the goal circle.