The time is now as two teams battle it out for the trophy to conclude the 2025 VNL season, and crown the premiers in the 23&Under and Championship divisions.
Geelong Cougars earnt their right in the 23&U grand final and will go head-to-head against Melbourne University Lightning with the next generation of stars on display in what will be a thrilling game. In the Championship division, City West Falcons will be fighting for their fourth consecutive premiership with Hawks Netball up for the challenge.
At the beginning of the night, the 2025 VNL awards will be presented to the Team of the Year, Hot Shot winner and MVPs with broadcast beginning at 6.15pm. The grand final presentations for both divisions will take place at the conclusion of the Championship game.
Tickets for the grand final are on sale now.
FIXTURE
Wednesday 13 August
Championship
- Hawks Netball vs City West Falcons
23&U
- Geelong Cougars vs Melbourne University Lightning
BROADCAST
All games will be streamed live on KommunityTV, with select games also on Facebook and Kayo.
VNL Season Awards will be presented from 6:15pm.
Netball Victoria Facebook and KommunityTV
Geelong Cougars vs Melbourne University Lightning
6.50pm – 23&U
KommunityTV and Kayo
Hawks Netball vs City West Falcons
8.20pm – Championship
**Access is free for existing Herald Sun subscribers.
The award ceremony for both divisions will commence at 9.40pm on Court 1.
ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
Championship
- Breaking an 11-year drought, Hawks Netball will enter the Championship grand final going head-to-head with City West Falcons who know the big stage well. The major semi final was a relatively unexpected result for the Falcons as Hawks came away 11-goal victors to secure a spot in the big dance. The Falcons have managed to play their way back into the final in search of their fourth consecutive premiership. Hawks will be wearing their heart on their sleeve and a consistent four quarter performance is what’s needed to get them over the line. Winning all quarters in the major semi final, they need to push and hold off a powerful Falcons comeback that’s typically stemming from Sophie Hanrahan. Her defensive partner Charity Nasalio has a big task ahead of her, and that’s quieting down Ashlea Mawer. Nasalio’s impact can come from hedging between her opponent and the play, strong rebounds and confusing the space in the goal circle, however it’s going to be tough to get the rebounds when Mawer shoots at 100%. Her accuracy and volume will lead her side to victory off the back of key gains from Georgie O’Brien. Firm hands over pressure will impact the view into the Falcons’ goalers, so defence needs to be applied hard and early to stop the Falcons from getting into their flow. When Falcons do sight the circle, Jane Cook will need to keep composed and not let the defenders in her head. They thrive when she doesn’t start too deep in the circle so Cook can give herself enough space off the goal line under the formidable presence of Chloe Duke.
23&Under
- You have to go all the way back to Round 2 when the Geelong Cougars and Melbourne University Lightning last battled it out. Both sides will be eager to face off, but this time the winner will be crowd premiers. Lightning took the win by 15 goals in their last meeting, but the Cougars have taken massive strides in their game and have continually improved throughout the season, defeating some of the most dominant teams in the 23&U division. All eyes will be on Geelong’s Charli Hoey and Lightning’s Kate O’Dwyer. O’Dwyer’s strong holds and body positioning need to be perfect, otherwise Hoey will intercept and deflect any ball that’s in her vicinity in what will be a defensive heavy game. Indi O’Connor does a mountain of work in the Cougars attack both inside and outside the goal circle, so she’ll need to be shut down by Dayna Williams to force the midcourt to take more responsibility with the ball. This will therefore create opportunities for Tilly Shepherd to come out and hunt for the ball. When Shepherd is switched on, the whole Lightning side gets in the groove and reward the defender for her efforts.
