The return of VNL went off with a bang as teams came back looking fresh and eager to assert themselves on the competition. North East Blaze’s Division 1 side remains the only unbeaten team just getting through unscathed as Geelong Cougars kept their foot on the pedal in their romping win in the Championship division.
Championship
Melbourne University Lightning (75) defeated Ariels (33)
City West Falcons (67) defeated Wilson Storage Southern Saints (46)
Hawks Netball (54) defeated by North East Blaze (62)
Peninsula Waves (37) defeated by Geelong Cougars (75)
Casey Demons (53) defeated by Boroondara Express (72)
The week off for Boroondara Express proved to be exactly what they needed claiming a convincing win over the third-placed Casey Demons by 15 goals.
It was all systems go for the Express team with the energy up across the court. As players rolled on and off, there was little to no disruption to their play and momentum to keep possession of the ball and score quickly.
Ruby Barkmeyer was confident throughout the game, showcasing a range of shots and was unfazed by the continual pressure from the Casey Demons defenders.
However, the main sticking point for Boroondara was dismantling the Casey shooting duo, Emma Ryde and Sinead Lumsden. With a defensive line of Michelle Massarany, Nikita Handley and Taylah Brown, they were a little bit on the shorter side. Still, they continued to reject high passes into Ryde and confuse the space in the circle to force a turnover or a held ball. Even a quick offload to get closer to the post from Lumsden was risky as Brown would often get a touch to it and quickly throw it down the court to their awaiting attack line.
Casey’s full-court defence improved in the last five minutes of the game as they found some extra speed to take the ball down the court and cause a few intercepts, but it was too little too late as not much could stop the handy lead that Express built throughout the game.
Division 1
Melbourne University Lightning (51) defeated Ariels (40)
City West Falcons (57) defeated Wilson Storage Southern Saints (45)
Hawks Netball (43) defeated by North East Blaze (44)
Peninsula Waves (44) defeated by Geelong Cougars (67)
Casey Demons (36) defeated by Boroondara Express (71)
It all came down to the wire with the Blaze desperate to keep their unbeaten record intact in 2022. Hawks pushed the lead out to as much as nine goals in the third quarter, but North East Blaze continued to play their systems and force some errors in the final ten minutes of the game to win by one goal.
The defensive change in the second quarter for the Blaze, altered the game with Ruby Tidd helping Nakita Singe down back to silence holding shooter Dominique Taylor. The change also forced Ellie Rice to sweep the ball around multiple times before achieving a goal.
Down the other end of the court, Hawks also displayed defensive dominance in the continued efforts of Chloe Duke. In the first quarter, Duke forced high performing goal shooter Kayla Loulanting to the sidelines, struggling against the physicality and Duke’s long arms.
For the Blaze, it was just keeping confidence and utilising the systems they put in place. The work from Tayissa Coppinger and Bron Taylor did not go amiss as they continued to reset and re-feed the ball into the circle to ensure a safe and calculated goal.
19/Under
Melbourne University Lightning (67) defeated Ariels (47)
City West Falcons (50) defeated Wilson Storage Southern Saints (35)
Hawks Netball (48) drew with North East Blaze (48)
Peninsula Waves (68) defeated Geelong Cougars (43)
Casey Demons (54) defeated Boroondara Express (50)
Settling early and building on their attacks, the Hawks looked to be in control of this game for almost the full 60 minutes, but in the last two minutes, a slow-release on a penalty pass and some long vision from Ruby Shannon changed the outcome for the North East Blaze.
With just 45 seconds to go on the clock, the Blaze had thrown a bad pass allowing the Hawks to take it down the court to Keeley Bergman and Dee Dee Lambert, who’d been highly accurate all game. But a well-timed deflection from Ally Langdon and some effortless passing from Grace Hay stopped the final goal for the Hawks. It was then up to the midcourt to treasure the ball and find Olivia Cawtharay, which they did with ease three times to bring the score back to level.
Goal keeper for Hawks, Georgie O’Brien, was another standout of this match as she utilised full circle defence to stop the ball coming into starting shooters, Ella Tennant and Paris Bosschieter, ultimately forcing Blaze to play Olivia Cawthray.
