From tantalising 1-goal victories to 30-goal blowouts, VNL debutants right through to 100-gamers and two clubs securing clean sweeps on the night, Round 9 of the VNL had it all.
And with the premise of VNL finals looming, the competition is certainly heating up!
Check out all the action below.
CHAMPIONSHIP
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY LIGHTNING 61 def HAWKS NETBALL 40
BOROONDARA EXPRESS 69 def PENINSULA 52
WILSON STORAGE SOUTHERN SAINTS 52 def by CITY WEST FALCONS 82
GEELONG COUGARS 69 def CASEY DEMONS NETBALL 51
ARIELS 61 def by NORTH EAST BLAZE 64
Determined to redeem themselves after an unfortunate loss to the City West Falcons last week, Melbourne University Lightning (MUL) got off to a blistering start to ultimately seal a 21-goal victory over the Hawks.
Strong first-quarter performances from MUL's Mikaela Vaughan and Claudia Mawson in the goalring (combined 100% accuracy, 19/19) saw the gritty outfit register a 10-goal lead at the first change, before extending their lead at every break thereafter.
On the win, star MUL midcourter Kelsie Rainbow stated, "It was a good hit-out tonight, we were just really focusing on our structures and working in our mini-units and then as a collective to get that win.
"Hawks are a good outfit, they're really competitive so you can't take your finger off the pulse in any regard because they always come back quite strong.
"That's definitely what we went into the match thinking: they're really good contenders, they're always in the contest, so we just had to stick to our game plan and keep the foot down on the pedal.
"I'm really proud of everyone's efforts tonight - especially Fi [Fowler], she was great out there in the contest and Shae [Brown] had some fantastic takes tonight too.
"I think we all just love being out there and playing, and we're taking each week as it comes."
At Waverley Netball Centre, a brilliant second-term fightback saw Boroondara come up trumps in their clash against the luckless Waves.
Though Peninsula got off to a strong start, plucking a 4-goal lead by quarter time, Express came into the second quarter with a point to prove, leveraging their first-rate defensive skills to snatch the lead back by the main break.
From there, it was a matter of shooting accuracy to close out the game, with Boroondara ultimately reigning supreme (85% accuracy overall, 69/82).
The Falcons have continued their dominance in the VNL Championship division, posting a comprehensive 30-goal triumph over the Saints.
While the home team managed to keep step with City West early on, with scores tied at 18-all at quarter time, stellar cameos from the Falcons' Zoe Davies, Sarah Szczykulski and Soli Ropati empowered the side to seize a 7-goal lead in the second term, before running away with the victory.
An 18-goal win over the Demons was the cherry on top for Geelong's Zanna Woods, who celebrated her 100th game of VNL on the night.
Ably assisted by teammates Julia Woolley (97% accuracy, 26/27), Tori Honner and Madi Browne, Woods' team took the lead at the first break and didn't look back, despite Casey's best efforts.
It was a cracker of a match between Ariels and North East Blaze at the Maroondah Nets, as goal shooters Rahni Samason (98% accuracy, 49/50) and Nyah Allen (92% accuracy, 42/46) went head-to-head.
Though Ariels' Monique Tarrant, Maddison Wallmeyer and Alice Paget toiled all game and were instrumental in their side's late resurgence, the odds were ultimately in Blaze's favour, winning 64-61.
DIVISION ONE
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY LIGHTNING 35 def by HAWKS NETBALL 60
BOROONDARA EXPRESS 70 def PENINSULA 46
WILSON STORAGE SOUTHERN SAINTS 49 def by CITY WEST FALCONS 50
GEELONG COUGARS 57 def CASEY DEMONS NETBALL 51
ARIELS 37 def by NORTH EAST BLAZE 66
Following a tight first quarter, it was the Hawks who managed to stave off a brave MUL outfit, in what midcourter Kate Fletcher deemed a tough win.
"It was such a good team effort tonight," Fletcher said, "obviously in the first quarter it was a much closer scoreline and we felt like we were getting a lot of ball defensively but we weren’t really capitalising in attack, so after quarter time, that was one of our big focus areas and I think we continued that really hard defensive pressure but then were able to turn it on the scoreboard as well.
"We all commented and said that we felt like the pressure from MUL was really strong throughout the court for the whole game. They went really hard at the first ball, so we had to make sure that we remained disciplined, faked the ball and used multiple drives, because if we just went for one simple drive, they were often right there with us. So yeah, their defensive pressure was really strong throughout the game.
"For us, Liv, our goal keeper, had one of her best games for the season tonight. She was sensational and worked really well with Em [Kay] in goal defence. Our goalers were super steady too, Elle had deadeyes under the post, as always.
"We’re still trying to work on a full 60 minutes and putting together a really polished full game. We’ve had 2 wins in a row now which is nice, but having that consistency throughout that whole game is definitely something we want to work on going forward."
A confident and consistent display from Boroondara enabled the side to get back on the winners list, in toppling the Waves by 24 goals at Waverley Netball Centre.
The silky midcourt combination of Boroondara's Chelsea Sartori, Georgia Hellyer and Ariana Luamanu allowed the home team to control proceedings from the get-go, while sharpshooter Anastasia Hamill (94% accuracy, 40/43) worked her magic under the post.
Though Peninsula worked hard in the final half to close the margin, it was regrettably to no avail.
Spectators didn't know where to look in the heated battle between the Saints and Falcons, as the tightest match of the round saw plenty of action at both ends of the court.
While Sarah Mathews' side fought valiantly, even making a late charge in the final quarter to deliver a dramatic climax, it was the Falcons who ultimately managed to get over the line, winning by a mere goal.
The victory now makes it four in a row for the City West outfit.
Described as "a really intense game" by Demons skipper Liz Walsh, the showdown between the Geelong Cougars and Casey Demons was certainly one to watch.
"Coming into the match, we knew it was going to be a tough, physical battle against a strong, top four side but we were stoked with how we went," said Walsh.
"Although we couldn't quite seal the deal [Casey lost by 6 goals, 57-51], we were really happy with the effort we put out tonight and we're looking forward to building from it next week.
"We'll definitely take away a lot from that match, like Geelong were really good at changing up their game every single time we figured it out, so you know there’d be a few patterns down the court, eventually we’d pick up on it and there’d be a turnover but then they were really good at changing up that pattern straight away. Adjusting to that a little bit quicker is definitely something we'll be working on now.
"Even though we had a good start today, Geelong are such a consistent side and when they got away from us for five minutes in the fourth, we couldn't quite bring it back from there unfortunately."
A sluggish start proved costly for the Ariels, as they fell by 29 goals to an in-form and undefeated Blaze outfit.
Despite Ariels' best efforts, Blaze's squad depth caused headaches for the home side early on, as did their intense midcourt pressure, headed by Samantha Coppinger.
While Ariels will now look to redeem themselves next week, Blaze will seek to protect their impressive clean streak.
19&U
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY LIGHTNING 42 def by HAWKS NETBALL 44
BOROONDARA EXPRESS 51 def by PENINSULA 63
WILSON STORAGE SOUTHERN SAINTS 51 def CITY WEST FALCONS 42
GEELONG COUGARS 60 def CASEY DEMONS NETBALL 42
ARIELS 43 def by NORTH EAST BLAZE 46
The heat was well and truly on in the face-off between MUL and the Hawks, with the visitors reigning supreme by just two goals, following a "very intense" final quarter according to Hawks midcourter Lanni Pryor.
"It felt really good to win in the end," Pryor noted, "but they [MUL] made us work really hard! We were down by one goal at the start of the last quarter and we ended up winning by two, so it was very intense. I think our defence won us the game."
Defender Abigail Inglis agreed with her teammate's sentiments, adding "I thought MUL were a good attacking side, they were very quick, very fast-paced with the ball and had a tall goaler that they could easily feed into, so defending on them was very hard, you had to cover multiple leads.
"And then in that last quarter, like Lanni said, I think it came down to our defensive pressure and composure in the end. But there was a lot of pressure - scoreboard pressure, the crowd, a lot of noise - so we had to drown that all out and remain focused.
"Slowing it down and playing steady netball is the key to winning the flag I think, so we'll continue to work on that."
An impressive second-quarter breakaway from the Peninsula Waves saw the young outfit take home the chocolates, in denying Boroondara their clean sweep on the night.
While Rose Laidlaw (83% accuracy, 37/45) and Casey Dunstan starred for Boroondara, Waves midcourt duo Abby Williams and Joanna Wietrzyk rose to the occasion for their side, working relentlessly to provide strong leads and crafty feeds into their attack end.
Back at the State Netball Centre, the Falcons were simply no match for the Wilson Storage Southern Saints, as the Saints took advantage of their strong connection in attack and trademark dynamic plays to seal a 9-goal victory over the wayward visitors.
Tadiwa Kahonde, Lily Graham and Grace Valele proved instrumental in their side's winning performance, while Chloe Langley (93% accuracy, 26/28) and Alexandra Keating were on their A-game for the Falcons.
Charging out of the blocks to secure an early 8-goal lead, it was the eighth-placed Geelong Cougars who got the job done over the tenth-placed Demons.
Though Casey's Chantelle Dale and Luiza Sulemani put up a good fight, the Cougars' sublime start, spearheaded by sharpshooter Tully Bethune, was ultimately insurmountable.
With only three goals separating both sides in the end, this fierce encounter between Ariels and Blaze came right down to the wire!
While Ariels had a stronger start, taking out a 3-goal advantage into the first change, Blaze riposted with a stirring second quarter performance to seize a 4-goal lead, before switching gears in the second half to seal the victory.
Ultimately, it was Blaze's composure and superior accuracy at the post which proved the difference on the night.
