With history being made, a draw resulting in extra time and division shake ups, the 2019 Bupa Victorian Netball League finals series officially kicked off last night with Semi Finals.
As eight out of ten VNL clubs fought it out for places in the Grand Final, players showcased new skills, match ups challenged opponents, and some experienced their first ever VNL final.
It was also a spectacular night for the Victorian umpiring pathway, as four Super Suncorp Netball, and two Australian Netball League umpires made the tough calls umpiring.
In Championship, Geelong Cougars guaranteed themselves a spot in Grand Final as it came down to extra time against City West Falcons. A brave contest from Boroondara saw them knock Division One reigning Premiers, Hawks Netball, out of the race to back up their title.
It was a momentous night for Peninsula Waves who made history as the first 19 & Under team in their club’s history to make it in to a Grand Final.
Championship
MAJOR SEMI FINAL – City West Falcons (65) def by Geelong Cougars (67)
It was a show-stopping Semi Final match between Falcons and Geelong that saw the two take their rivalry to extra time, only for Geelong to shake everyone’s expectations and beat Falcons to secure their Grand Final position.
From the first centre, the crowd and everyone watching this match knew it would be heated and come down to the very end. While City West took the first centre, it was Geelong who shot the first goal, setting the tone for the rest of the match. The player match ups on court were what dreams are made of, Goal Attack Julia Wooley from Geelong against 2019 ANL Captain Jacqui Newton, and Magpies training partner Mel Bragg on Falcon’s Maggie Lind.
A tight contest in the first quarter couldn’t split the two, the score 15-all at the end of the first break.
Despite Falcons’ goalers Jane Cook and Tahnysha Salanoa shooting at 100% accuracy in the second quarter, Geelong played an almost unstoppable quarter. Brook Allan and Jess Standfield were a force to be reckoned with in Geelong’s defence. Transitions and plays down the midcourt to Geelong’s attack third were lightning fast with Wooley, Kaitlyn Sheringham and Ruby Horton being to anticipate every pass and position themselves perfectly.
This finals ready play allowed Geelong to take an 8-goal advantage at half time. Making no position changes for the third quarter, Geelong held the lead at the third quarter by 6-goals despite precision goaling from Jane Cook and Molly Jovic coordinating passes with confidence in Falcons’ Centre.
Heading into the fourth quarter it looked as though Geelong had the win, that is until the true intensity we know from Falcons came into play. The ferocity at each goal end hit their peak, Falcons trying to secure every goal they could to make up the difference and Geelong trying to hold the lead they had worked to attain.
With 2-minutes left, Falcons were only one goal behind after shooting 5 goals in a row. As the seconds went, scores levelled. It went back and fourth until the very end until everyone’s eyes looked at the scores as the siren went… a draw at 56-all.
It was disbelief for the crowd but for the players, they knew this meant extra time.
As the battle continued, the speed of the ball was almost to fast to see. At the end of the first half of extra time, Geelong were ahead by one goal. Just under a minute to go in the second half, Geelong were still up by one goal but Falcons had the centre to take it into another lot of extra time. Falcons passed the ball to the circle edge where Salanoa held position. As she tried to bounce pass it to Maggie Lind, Cougars intercepted the ball to take it down to Ruby Horton who scored the final goal on the final second to secure a Grand Final position.
MINOR SEMI FINAL – North East Blaze (54) def by Casey Demons (70)
Casey Demons achieved their first ever finals victory in VNL last night, playing triumphantly over finals contenders, North East Blaze, to progress to the Preliminary Final next week.
The game was a hot contest between the two clubs, as the lead switched from team to team before Casey obtained a lead too strong to overtake. As the pressure mounted, both Casey and Blaze set a new playing standard in the hopes of grasping victory.
Blaze maintained the same line up for the first half of the match while Casey’s only change was to the midcourt. This resulted in intense match ups in each third of the court. Elle McDonald and Shannon Blackman directed their teams’ ball movements as the play went back and fourth in the first quarter. Consistent goaling from Blaze’s Libby Nicol and Sarah Hogan gave them a one goal lead at the end of the first break.
A second quarter surge of intensity from Casey almost appeared to be a way to tell the crowd and their competition that they deserved to be here and deserved to win. The dynamic movements from Blackman, Kass Withers and Erin Bell allowed Casey to take control of the ball. Every time it landed in their attack third, they could count on Emma Ryde to be in a prime position to receive the ball. Their strength to identify the most accurate passes led to an increase in their score large enough to take the lead from blaze, 33-28.
Casey took the third quarter in their stride to double their lead from 5-goals to 10-goals. This was clear to shake Blaze who began to rush passes and drop from their players. Kaitlyn Black down one end and Libby Nicol down the other helped to keep Blaze in with a chance, but Casey’s ambition to make it to the second phase of finals drove them to power through the final minutes of the match. 20-goals in the last quarter silenced Blaze and as the siren went Casey knew they would be back next week for Preliminary Finals.
Division One
MAJOR SEMI FINAL – North East Blaze (57) def Geelong Cougars (52)
In charge the entire season to finish top of the division ladder, Blaze continued their efforts last night to make their way straight into the Grand Final.
Triumphantly, Blaze remained in control throughout the entire match, increasing their lead every quarter to walk away with a 5-goal win. Consistency over four quarter proved the difference for Blaze, once again, their intensity not wavering for a moment over the match.
Goal attack Bronwyn Taylor for Blaze flew across the court with multiple drives into the circle, giving Sam Coppinger and Meg WIlliams plenty of opportunity to assist. Strong holds from the Blaze’s goalers were effective and hard to defend for Geelong, with Abigail Gedge shooting with strength.
Geelong looked to stand a chance to overtake Blaze up until the final quarter. They had all the right movements on court. Gen O’Connor and Laura Giles were tough opponents for Blaze to compete against as their pressure for intercepts did not waver once. Georgia Finn and Mercedes Lewis transitioned the ball directly and made confident choices of play.
As Blaze’s lead grew to 4-goals at the end of the third quarter, the opportunity was still there for either team. In the final quarter it came down to accuracy in every third, which Blaze prevailed in.
Geelong’s chance to do one better than last year and become Premiers will be decided next week where they use their second chance against Boroondara Express.
MINOR SEMI FINAL – Hawks Netball (44) def by Boroondara Express (52)
Hawks came into this match with the upper hand, having taken out the Division One Premiership in 2018 and finished a spot above Boroondara on the ladder. However, after a transformation in their performance over the season, Boroondara’s intent for finals was proven as they played a victorious second half to make their way into the Preliminary Final next week.
The first half showcased the abilities of Hawks that got them to this point of the season. Daisy Hill and Elle Rice in their goals proved a lethal combination and saw them shoot with accuracy at every angle in the circle. Jasmin Ferguson in Centre was pivotal for her team and switched from defence to attack with ease, always offering for a pass or moving into the space to receive.
Their first half performance saw them maintain a one goal lead at the end of the first and second half. Hawks’ experience from finals was evident but Boroondara gave them grief in their goal end with Ruby Barkmeyer and Abbey Ryan playing their own game.
The synchronised play from the four allowed Boroondara to attain needed goals to stay in the match as they entered the fourth quarter 2-goals behind Hawks.
Positions fairly unchanged, the final quarter battle between Express and Hawks was what finals are for. Emma Allman in Boroondara’s Centre was so speedy on the court that you couldn’t keep track of her, while Tegan Stephenson in Goal Keeper pounced at the perfect opportunities and took rebounds with Janelle Birch to convert. As Boroondara snuck up on Hawks, Sally Deller and Emily Kay increased pressure in Hawks’ defence, sticking tight on the body of their opposition.
Scores became level with 4-minutes left in the match to determine who would stay and who would leave the finals series. As time fled Boroondara took control of the match and forced Hawks to become rattled in their play. 2-goals up, then 5-goals, then 7-goals. Boroondara couldn’t be stopped in their ‘winning’ final quarter. As they scored their final goal, Hawks couldn’t catch up and Boroondara walked away with a victorious 8-goal win, proving timing matters most.
19 & Under Female
MAJOR SEMI FINAL – City West Falcons (45) def by Peninsula Waves (48)
Falcons entered this match having been the most dominant team in their division for the season. Peninsula entered knowing that if they won they would become the first ever 19 & Under Waves team to play in a Grand Final. The result of these motivations was a thrilling match for fans to watch.
Taking the largest first quarter lead out of all the Semi Final games, Waves struck hard to catch Falcons off guard.
Together in goals for Waves, Jasmin Mackie and Georgia Hernan, held the responsibility to secure scoring shots for their team. They seemed to do so with ease, scoring 13-goals combined to shoot at 100% accuracy in the first quarter. In the second quarter they continued this accuracy to reward the hard work of Susu Liai who was ready to pick up stray balls and cause disruption to Falcons’ play.
With a 9-goal lead at the end of the first half, Falcons tried to bring it closer by increasing the movement for options in their midcourt and tightening defence in the goal circle. Jasmin Fraser and Tiarah Minns, known to work as a power duo during the rounds, finally began to click in the final quarter which resulted in 15-minutes of the crowd captivated.
Falcons began to play the netball they have executed all season that looked to give Waves a run for their money. With each intercept, rebound and goal they took, the margin grew closer. Pressure limited the goals from Waves and brought scores tighter, but it was too little too late for Falcons.
The reaction from Waves when the siren went marked a milestone for the club and will see them take to the court next in the Grand Final.
MINOR SEMI FINAL – Geelong Cougars (53) def Wilson Storage Souther Saints (48)
The battle between Saints and Cougars seemed to encapsulate the season showcased from either side.
Much like their start to the season, Saints started slow in the first quarters to sneak in towards the end with goals. As for Geelong, they possessed confidence, consistency and versatility in their play, the same as almost every match of theirs this season.
Both sides matched each other in the first quarter to keep scores level at 14-all. However, as it went into the second quarter, Geelong were on the move and showed no signs of slowing down.
Ava Pierce for Cougars worked hard down the court to help her team take control, providing plenty of goal assists to Ellen Doyle and Darcy McFarlane who read each others position play in the goal circle to position themselves strategically. Down in defence, Sophie Shoebridge proved lethal, her reach over the ball and on-body defence shaking Saints’ goalers.
Down by 8 goals at the start of the second half, something ignited within Saints who increased their drives and power behind passes. Georgia Moody shot more goals and was moving with more intent. In the midcourt Alana McGurgen and Sarah Mathews made cleaner transitions. They closed the score difference to 3-goals to make the fourth quarter the match decider.
In the end it was the consistent teamwork and decisive movement of Geelong that got them ahead of Saints, with Saints making simple execution errors at crucial moments.
