Round 2 of the VNL has concluded, and teams are starting to cement their combinations.
Played over Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, the week of competition saw five of the matches decided by five goals or less.
Championship
Boroondara Express’ Samantha Gooden, was instrumental in her team’s three-goal win over the Melbourne University Lightning, scoring 31 of their 43 goals.
The Lightning led by one at the first break, however it would be the Express up by one at half-time, 22- 21.
Boroondara maintained the lead for the remainder of the match, however it was tight and they just got over the line, finishing three goal winners 43-40.
Saturday’s game between the Monash University Storm and Wilson Storage Southern Saints was a thriller, with scores level at 38 a piece at three-quarter-time.
The Saints lead by three goals at the first break, and just one at half-time before the Storm drew level.
The final quarter came down to the wire, with Saints just one goal winners over the Storm, 54-53.
Division One
The game between the Peninsula Waves and Geelong Cougars see-sawed throughout the match.
Peninsula held an early lead, 15-11, however Geelong fired into the second quarter, with the margin just one at half-time and two, in favour of Geelong, at the three-quarter-time break.
A 17-goal final term saw Geelong walk away with the victory, with the final scoring standing at 62-55.
The match of the round was between the Yarra Ariels and ACU Sovereigns at Knox, with just one goal separating the two teams at the final whistle.
ACU was victorious 46-45.
19/U
The 19/U VNL division saw many interesting games, that resulted in some real movement across the ladder.
The Geelong Cougars finished with a mammoth 67 goals in their win over the Peninsula Waves, while Melbourne University also scored a high total of 60 goals in their victory over Boroondara.
The 2016 preliminary final rematch between the City West Falcons and DC North East Blaze was also a top-of-the-ladder game, with the teams sitting second and first on the ladder.
It would be the Falcons who were victorious, defeating the Blaze convincingly, 58-39.
The Falcons started strong, helping them to a seven-goal lead at the first break.
The second quarter saw a big turnaround, with the Blaze bringing the margin back to three goals, before the Falcons powered away with a strong second-half performance to see them 19-goal victors.
The Falcons now move to the top of the 19/U VNL ladder, equal on points with the Ariels and Monash University on two wins.
