FIXTURE
Sunday 30 June
Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium, Gippsland
Hawks Netball vs Peninsula Waves
Boroondara Express vs Gippsland Stars (23&U only – Championship BYE)
La Trobe University Sports Stadium, Bundoora
North East Blaze vs City West Falcons
Selkirk Stadium, Ballarat
Geelong Cougars vs Bendigo Strikers
Western Warriors vs Melbourne University Lightning
Casey Stadium, Casey
Casey Demons vs Wilson Storage Southern Saints
BROADCAST
Sunday, 30 June
Netball Victoria Facebook
Western Warriors vs Melbourne University Lightning
2pm - Championship
Geelong Cougars vs Bendigo Strikers
3.30pm - Championship
KommunityTV
Hawks Netball vs Peninsula Waves
12.30pm - 23&U
Boroondara Express vs Gippsland Stars
2pm - 23&U
Subscription required (access is free for existing Herald Sun subscribers).
ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
Championship
- Another top of the table clash for North East Blaze who face ladder leaders City West Falcons, after defeating finals contenders Hawks Netball on Wednesday. Falcons goal shooter Jane Cook was picture perfect in her last match, scoring 86 goals at 100% and will be the target of the Blaze defenders. The pressure will be on Blaze wing defence Kali Dolphin to smother the midcourt and limit the feeds into Cook if they want to stir another upset.
- The club rivalry between Casey Demons and the Wilson Storage Southern Saints will be reignited after their last Super Sunday match in Round 12 went down to the wire 52-51. Goal shooter Emily Andrew was crucial to getting the Saints over the line in their one-goal win, after scoring 41 goals at 84%. They’ll also be riding the high of a 14-goal win over Melbourne University Lightning earlier in the week, so the challenge is on Casey to shut them out.
- Geelong Cougars are chasing finals contention and will need to be perfect against the Bendigo Strikers to stay in touch with the top four. Strikers dominated by a ten-goal margin the last time they met, but Cougars are hot off a seven-goal win over finals favourites Boroondara in a big defensive effort from Brooke Allan.
23&Under
- Gippsland Stars are eying their third win of the season when they take on Boroondara Express at home. With the Traralgon crowd on their side, the Stars are aiming to repeat their performance in the last Super Sunday, where they overcame Express 47-44. Myah Healey was a standout in that match (36 goals, 86%), but struggled to replicate the form in their loss last week. How she bounces back will be crucial to a home win.
- In a battle of third vs fourth, North East Blaze hosts the City West Falcons in their only home game of the season. Despite winning their last battle by 10 goals, Blaze may find it difficult to quell goalers Amalani Fauonuku and Holly Adams-Alcock this time around. Adams-Alcock has grown into a high-scoring target in recent weeks, while goal attack Fauonuku boasts an impressive netball IQ. Add in their flexibility across both positions, and the Blaze defense suddenly has its hands full.
ONE TO WATCH
Sophie Hanrahan – City West Falcons
In-form defender Sophie Hanrahan has been a standout for Championship division’s ladder-leading Falcons in recent weeks. Tasked with disrupting the feed into prolific Blaze shooter Sam Silvester, the tall and agile defender is no stranger to big occasions – she’s part of a championship winning VNL side, won the 2023 Australian Netball Championships with Collingwood Magpies and has a great netball brain as coach of Corowa-Rutherglen A-Grade. Her ability to bring the ball out of defence will be essential to posting another win over Blaze.
