Following the official opening of six new indoor courts at the home of Victorian netball, Round 10 of the VNL got underway on Wednesday evening, delivering some dramatic results.
Featuring an enthralling 53-all draw, a 36-goal blow out victory and even a familiar Melbourne Vixens star back on the VNL scene, this was one exciting round indeed.
Check out this week's match breakdown below.
CHAMPIONSHIP
CITY WEST FALCONS 80 def NORTH EAST BLAZE 60
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY LIGHTNING 46 def by BOROONDARA EXPRESS 48
WILSON STORAGE SOUTHERN SAINTS 40 def by GEELONG COUGARS 76
PENINSULA 51 def by ARIELS 80
In the Championship division, the undefeated City West Falcons have continued their red-hot form, securing an impressive 20-goal victory against the fifth-placed North East Blaze.
Though Blaze managed to keep step with the Falcons early on, a prolific shooting performance from Falcons goaler Jane Cook (99% accuracy, 74/75), combined with Soli Ropati's dominance in the midcourt, thwarted their gallant efforts.
Blaze will now look to use their upcoming bye week to reset, while the Falcons are fixtured to face Geelong Cougars, in what should be nothing short of an epic battle.
Some sublime performances from Melbourne Vixens star Ruby Barkmeyer and fellow goaler Uneeq Palavi saw Boroondara defeat the second-placed Melbourne University Lightning (MUL) by 2 goals, in keeping their season hopes alive.
As Barkmeyer noted, "From the beginning, we really wanted to work on having four consistent quarters, and I think it was even for three [quarters], but in the third quarter we got up by three goals... so I think we did hit the nail on the head when we said we wanted to work on consistency and I think it was there tonight right from the start and all the way through to the final quarter which saw us get the win.
"It was tough though, MUL are a really solid team across all thirds. Their defence was very physical and strong, and they have a solid attack end down there too.
"Every game is really crucial for us, especially at this point in the season, so I think to get the win against a top side like MUL really sets us up for the end of the season and gives us lots of confidence going into next week.
"Personally, I was just really excited to be out there tonight, I've played with the majority of the girls before so it was lots of fun being out there on court with them again. It had been a long time due to the pandemic but yes, it was just so exciting!"
Meanwhile on Court 6, a comprehensive 36-goal triumph over the Wilson Storage Southern Saints saw the Geelong Cougars make it four on the trot.
Despite some brief moments of brilliance from Saints goaling duo Sinead Lumsden and Ella Quinlan, the Cougars set the tone of the match early, snatching a 22-goal lead by the main break, before running away with the margin in the final half.
And the Ariels certainly brought their A-game in their clash against the Peninsula Waves, as dominant displays from trio Rahni Samason (96% accuracy, 60/63), Olivia Morris (100% accuracy, 18/18) and Monique Tarrant helped the visitors register their third win of the season.
Though Waves co-captains Stacie Gardiner and Gabby Dwyer toiled all game, composure and accuracy at the post paid dividends for the gutsy Ariels side.
DIVISION ONE
CITY WEST FALCONS 38 def by NORTH EAST BLAZE 66
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY LIGHTNING 36 def by BOROONDARA EXPRESS 57
WILSON STORAGE SOUTHERN SAINTS 45 def by GEELONG COUGARS 58
PENINSULA 56 def ARIELS 47
Still yet to be defeated this season, North East Blaze soared to another victory, this time against the fourth-placed Falcons.
Though Falcons' Lucia Fauonuku and Majar Hikuroa-Betham worked tirelessly in defence, their efforts were regrettably to no avail as Blaze trio Ruby Tidd, Nakita Singe and Kali Dolphin came out firing from the get-go to help secure a 21-goal lead by halftime.
From there, Blaze continued to turn up the heat, in chasing up every loose ball and applying fierce pressure to hurry the Falcons into further errors, before taking out an impressive 27-goal win.
Boroondara Express also continued their winning ways, in banking the four points against Georgie Rodger's luckless Lightning.
Despite some positive signs from MUL early on, the home side were no match for the consistent, four-quarter performance produced by Boroondara on the night, in seizing a 21-goal victory.
After stacking on the defensive pressure early, the Geelong Cougars came up trumps in their encounter against the Wilson Storage Southern Saints, winning 45-58.
While Geelong's Zara Walters was on song, providing plenty of options in the midcourt, Georgie Whittle played a stand-out game for the Saints, in working her backside off all game to keep her team in the contest.
In the end however, it was the Cougars' accuracy at the post which proved the difference on the night.
On Court 11, it was the Peninsula Waves who got the job done in the final quarter against Ariels, following a "tight goal-for-goal battle", according to Waves defender Adrienne Harris.
"The last time we played Ariels, it was a really tight match all the way to the end, so in preparation for this game we knew that it would probably come down to the wire, and it did.
"Ultimately I think it all came down to a few early turnovers in the last quarter and some lucky umpiring decisions that went our way... it was just nice to come away with the win though, especially after a little bit of a slump.
"We were also lucky to gain back a lot of our players this week - some were in quarantine, some were in NSW playing netball and some were just coming back from injuries - so I think having our full squad back made a huge difference, we worked really well as units tonight and that was our team focus."
19&U
CITY WEST FALCONS 53 def NORTH EAST BLAZE 44
MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY LIGHTNING 53 drew BOROONDARA EXPRESS 53
WILSON STORAGE SOUTHERN SAINTS 50 def GEELONG COUGARS 32
PENINSULA 69 def ARIELS 67
There was plenty of feeling in the showdown between the Falcons and Blaze in the 19&U division, as both sides fought tooth and nail from the outset.
Though Blaze had the stronger start, heading into the first change with a handy 5-goal lead under their belt, it was the Falcons who ultimately reigned supreme, in timing their late swoop to perfection.
Falcons co-captain and midcourter Ally Keating was instrumental in her team's 9-goal victory, providing plenty of drive down the court, as was fellow teammate Fionnuala McKeagney-Stubbs.
For the gallant Blaze, sharpshooter Kaylah Loulanting held her ground all match, despite the many rotational changes made around her.
In what could be deemed the match of the round, the see-sawing affair between MUL and Boroondara had audiences hooked from the opening whistle.
While Express were quick off the blocks in taking out a 4-goal lead by the end of the first quarter, MUL riposted with a scintillating second term to capture a 1-goal advantage at the main break.
From that point, it was anyone's game.
"Coming off three losses, we knew MUL would be aggressive," Boroondara skipper Tiahnee Farrell explained, "we really had to bring it out there."
Several momentum swings in the third quarter just added to the drama, as the Lightning managed to post a narrow 2-goal lead at three-quarter time.
"Then that last quarter rolled around and it was pretty intense," Farrell continued, "throughout the season, we've been kind of dropping off in the last quarter and the consistency hasn't been there, so that was a real focus for us... in going out there, smashing that last quarter and giving them something to work for.
"MUL also have a really strong attacking lineup: their wing attack and goal attack work well together, and they have a big target down there in their goal shooter, so we knew we had to stop that if we were any chance to win, and I think we did really well - especially in the last quarter, where we get a lot of turnovers which was nice."
Regrettably for both teams however, it was all square when the final buzzer sounded, with both sides sitting on 53 goals apiece. Still, Farrell remained upbeat.
"Yes, it was a draw," she noted, "and it was just a pretty unfortunate couple of seconds there, but it was also a really good game to be a part of and there were a lot of positives.
"Our goal attack Ella [Tennant], she's a young player and she shot so well - I think she was at 100% [accuracy], with her long bombs from everywhere. Our centre and goal keeper really brought it today too, our goal keeper Ellie [Stephens] tried really hard to block out that goal shooter and we were really proud of her efforts.
"I suppose today we really worked on what we've tried to implement at training. I know we drew, but MUL are a really good team so we'll try and bring all the good stuff that we did today into the next couple of rounds, especially because there's only a few to go."
A strong start paid off for the third-placed Saints, as they managed to transform a 7-goal quarter-time lead into an 18-goal victory over the Cougars.
"It was a really hard-fought game," Saints midcourter Holly Garac said after the match, "the game got quite physical as it went on... unfortunately we now have three injuries but we're ok!
"We started off the game really strong, I thought our defence held us together since we struggled a bit in attack. I think we also focused on their goalers tonight. Geelong have a strong and accurate goal attack and a tall goal shooter, and we knew that they were going to be pretty physical coming into the game.
"We're happy with the win though, Megan [Galletti] killed it in goal defence today, she got so many intercepts and Dom [Taylor] in goal shooter was also a stand-out.
"Now in our next few matches we definitely want to convert more on our turnovers and we want to focus on treasuring the ball a bit more, especially in attack."
And it was a classic come-from-behind victory for the Peninsula Waves in their clash against Ariels, as a mammoth fourth-quarter effort from Olivia Wilkinson and Eryn Stocker helped the home side get over the line by just 2 goals.
While the seventh-placed Ariels maintained the lead over top-of-the-table Waves for much of the match, some extraordinary one-percenter efforts from the Waves in the final term saw them ultimately pip the valiant visitors, despite Emily Andrew's impressive offensive work all game.
