It’s now or never as the 2025 VNL finals series enters the preliminary stage, where the winners from each division will secure a coveted spot in the grand final.
The winner of the North East Blaze and Melbourne University Lightning match will face the Geelong Cougars in the 23&U grand final, meanwhile City West Falcons and Boroondara Express will compete for a spot in the Championship grand final against Hawks Netball.
Tickets for week three are on sale now
FIXTURE
Wednesday 6 August
Championship
- City West Falcons vs Boroondara Express
23&U
- North East Blaze vs Melbourne University Lightning
BROADCAST
All games will be streamed live on KommunityTV, with select games also on Facebook.
Exclusively KommunityTV
City West Falcons vs Boroondara Express
8.45pm – Championship
**Access is free for existing Herald Sun subscribers.
Netball Victoria Facebook and KommunityTV
North East Blaze vs Melbourne University Lightning
7pm – 23&U
ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
Championship
- This is a matchup like no other as City West Falcons and Boroondara Express face off a round earlier than previous finals campaigns, having competed in the previous two Championship grand finals. The Falcons will be hungry to bounce back from last week’s loss, while Express recognises the challenge ahead of them after an uncharacteristic 14-goal loss to the Falcons in the qualifying final. Zali Anderson will be crucial to Express’ scoring rate, the midcourter having speed to burn and game smarts to eliminate her opponent from the contest. The feeds will need to be perfect with the Falcons defenders ready to grab any ball in the air. Sussu Liai will need to quell Anderson’s influence if the Falcons want to stop Express from getting the ball into the circle. Liai will need strong hands over pressure to block the vision into the circle, while also closing off Anderson’s favoured hard drives into the pocket. Montana Holmes will need to be steady in attack for the Falcons, choosing her moments on when to deliver the long feed. Her match up with Express’ Casey Adamson will bring plenty of intensity to the game with Adamson’s closing speed and read of the play resulting in her winning plenty of ball for her side.
23&Under
- For the fourth time this season North East Blaze will take on Melbourne University Lightning, this time competing for a spot in the 23&U grand final. Blaze has come out victorious in their meetings so far by an average of eight goals, so this is a chance to go four from four. The sides are coming off very different performances, a disheartening loss for Blaze last week while Lightning claimed a confident win in the semi final. Grace Markovic will be key for the Lightning to close off the space between the transverse line and circle edge, a strategy proven to halt Blaze when that area is disrupted. Blaze’s Ella Tennant will need to penetrate hard down the line and open the width of the court with purpose. Her influence in goal attack could be the difference for Blaze, with Tennant sighting the post more in recent rounds. The battle between Lightning’s Akira McCormack and Blaze’s Maddy George will determine how slick the Lightning’s shooting circle rotates. McCormack can shoot from long range while providing great movement around the circle, so it’s George’s job to shut down her movements while eliminating the quick shooter-to-shooter pass.
