FIXTURE
Wednesday 17 July
State Netball Centre, Parkville – Free entry for spectators
Casey Demons vs City West Falcons
Western Warriors vs Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Geelong Cougars vs Hawks Netball
Gippsland Stars vs Peninsula Waves (23&U only – Championship BYE)
Boroondara Express vs North East Blaze
Bendigo Strikers vs Melbourne University Lightning
BROADCAST
Wednesday, 17 July
Netball Victoria Facebook
Casey Demons vs City West Falcons
7.00pm - 23&U
8.30pm - Championship
KommunityTV
Western Warriors vs WS Southern Saints
7.00pm - 23&U
8.30pm - Championship
Subscription required (access is free for existing Herald Sun subscribers).
ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
Championship
- It all comes down to the final round of the VNL season to determine the top four. City West Falcons and Boroondara Express are locked in at the top, leaving Hawks Netball, North East Blaze and Geelong Cougars vying for third and fourth spots.
- Third-placed Hawks take on fifth-placed Cougars, sitting just a win ahead of the Geelong side. If the Cougars can get on top, it will come down to percentage points, so expect them to come out firing for not just the win but a huge score. Mavericks training partner Brooke Allan will be crucial to shutting out the Hawks attack, and sets up a tantalizing battle with Hot Shots leaderboard regular Kaylia Stanton. While the Cougars’ Ally O'Connor and the Hawks’ Keighley Starrett make a mouthwatering match up in centre.
- A win for Blaze will cement their spot in finals, but they’ll need to brush a three-game losing streak and overcome Express to get there. Boroondara goal defence Ruby Pekin Schlicht has been in strong form while Blaze goal attack Georgia Moody has kept her confidence despite the string of losses – expect their battle to heat up as they pull their teams across the line.
23&Under
- City West Falcons, Peninsula Waves and Geelong Cougars are in a three-horse race for the remaining finals spot – and each will face their own challenges this week. While the Falcons have a slight points advantage, they’ve had an almighty fall from grace off the back of four consecutive losses. They face a Casey Demons side they should beat on paper, but after their alarming form slump, a season-defining upset is still on the cards.
- The Waves sit just behind Falcons with a smooth road ahead when they take on the wooden spoon in the Gippsland Stars. Simple netball is the name of the game, and they’ll have a shot in finals if they can execute a relaxed gameplan through the ever-reliable attack in Charlize Gabel Joseph, Taylah Werner and Isabelle Rebecca.
- The Cougars are an outside chance of playing finals, with an almighty challenge against the top-placed Hawks. They’ll be banking on the Falcons and Waves suffering losses, while having to stir a major upset against the premiership favourites. Cougars fans, never say never!
ONE TO WATCH
Indya Forde – Geelong Cougars
Goal defence Indya Forde, in combination with Brooke Allan, will be firing to deliver the Cougars a season-saving win. The regional star hails from the Colac Tigers, and earned selection into the Vixens’ Super Netball Reserves team this year. Accustomed to finals netball, Indya has also played for Victoria in the mixed division at the AMMNA Nationals where the team finished as runners up.
