Championship
Hawks Netball 53 def 57 DC North East Blaze
Melbourne University Lightning 55 def 32 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Boroondara Express 38 def by 71 City West Falcons
Peninsula Waves 41 def by 42 Ariels
Geelong Cougars 80 def 40 Sovereigns
Division One
Boroondara Express 41 def by 54 City West Falcons
Peninsula Waves 47 def by 49 Ariels
Geelong Cougars 67 def 58 Sovereigns
Hawks Netball 51 def 48 DC North East Blaze
Melbourne University Lightning 52 def 36 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
19/Under
Peninsula Waves 55 def 38 Ariels
Geelong Cougars 55 def 46 Sovereigns
Hawks Netball 34 def by 46 DC North East Blaze
Melbourne University Lightning 35 def by 36 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Boroondara Express 51 def 49 City West Falcons
After a full week of recovery, teams competing in the Bupa Victorian Netball League (VNL) gathered at the State Netball and Hockey Centre for the third round of the season.
The Melbourne University Lightning were successful this week; the club walked away with two wins over the Wilson Storage Southern Saints. In the Championship division, the two teams played an incredibly physical game. Unfortunately for the Southern Saints, this resulted in several injuries within their Championship squad. Due to this, the club’s 19/Under and Division One players came off the bench to make their Championship debut. After a tightly contested first half, the Southern Saints struggled to keep up with the Lightning as the inexperience of the young team began to show.
The Lightning have secured their position at the top of the Championship ladder, with the help of former Melbourne Vixens player, Chelsey Tregear.
Despite their unluckiness so far, the Wilson Storage Southern Saints show great promise for the rest of the season. Championship defender, Mardie Cunningham, and 19/U mid courter, Charlotte Davies, are two of many star players the club boasts. Davies was integral to their one goal win over the Lightning in the 19/U competition.
The Geelong Cougars continued their winning streak as the Division One and 19/U premiers achieved their third wins of the season. Proving their strength as a club and dominance in the competition, the two teams both triumphed over the Sovereigns by nine goals. Their Championship squad obtained the biggest win of the night; they doubled the score of their competition and achieved a decent percentage boost with a 40 goal win.
Undeterred by their losses, the Sovereigns matched the force the Cougars brought to the court. In Division One, they seized a nine goal lead before their Geelong competition fought to take out the game. Once again, the club portrayed a high standard of netball and are in great shape to face the Boroondara Express in round four.
The City West Falcons approached round three hoping to continue their success from last Wednesday night. The Falcons begun the night with two solid wins in the Division One and Championship grades. However, the 19/U match against the Boroondara Express proved to be the game of the night.
The Express had a tough start after falling 14 goals behind the Falcons. They eventually found their rhythm and came back fighting, with shooters Isabelle Hodgson and Georgia Moody propelling the Express into a two goal lead.
Round three seemed to produce many thrilling matches. The Championship and Division One Peninsula Waves teams suffered devastating losses to the Ariels, trailing by one and two goals in their respective games. The Waves and Ariels produced a hot contest across all four quarters where the score was level for large portions of both matches. Eventually both Ariels teams managed to hold their leads, however, the Waves sought revenge on behalf of their more experienced club members in the 19/U game. The young team achieved their second win of the season by staying 17 goals ahead of the Ariels.
The Hawks Netball Club were faced with a tough challenge as they faced reigning Championship premiers, DC North East Blaze. The Hawks Division One team delivered the Blaze their first loss of the season by finishing the game three goals ahead. In the Championship and 19/U grades, the Blaze proved too strong for the Hawks only just pulling away by four and twelve goals each. The Championship side cemented their position among the top four teams on the ladder, while the 19/U are sitting in first place.
