Championship
Peninsula Waves 71 def 25 Sovereigns
Ariels 46 def by 49 Hawks Netball
Melbourne University Lightning 76 def 61 Geelong Cougars
DC North East Blaze 70 def 40 Boroondara Express
City West Falcons 68 def 48 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Division One
Ariels 41 def by 42 Hawks Netball
Melbourne University Lightning 39 def by 59 Geelong Cougars
DC North East Blaze 84 def 36 Boroondara Express
City West Falcons 57 def 56 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Peninsula Waves 48 def by 71 Sovereigns
19/U
DC North East Blaze 57 def 51 Boroondara Express
City West Falcons 48 def 38 Wilson Storage Southern Saints
Peninsula Waves 49 def by 59 Sovereigns
Ariels 46 def 38 Hawks Netball
Melbourne University Lightning 36 def by 53 Geelong Cougars
A mere four days after their 2018 debut, ten teams across the state competed at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night for round two of the Bupa Victorian Netball League (VNL).
Despite the short recovery period after round one, the teams showed no signs of fatigue as the competition proved fierce once again.
DC North East Blaze and City West Falcons conquered the courts as both clubs walked away with wins from all three divisions.
Blaze coach, Kelli Zealley, was very pleased with the club’s efforts against the Boroondara Express on Wednesday night. Approaching round three, their main focus is to maintain their momentum and minimise the number of easy balls given to their opponents.
Following the Blaze’s performance last round against the Melbourne University Lightning, they are establishing themselves as a major competitor in the Bupa VNL this year.
Unfortunately for the Boroondara Express, many of their players are recovering from injury. While this is bad news for the club, it did provide many of their inexperienced team members with an opportunity to take to the court. This includes young talent and reliable Wing Defence, Zali Anderson.
Meanwhile, the 19/U and Division One Sovereigns secured 10 and 23 goal wins in their respective matches against the Peninsula Waves. Taking control of the court, the Sovereigns proved too strong for the Waves as they continued to build throughout the match.
Scoring 19 goals in the first quarter and 20 goals in the fourth, Division One Sovereigns coach, Kim Bailey, said that there were no weaknesses from their side. The Sovereigns are hoping to keep building on their success as they meet 2017 premiers, Geelong Cougars, in round three.
In the Championship match, the Peninsula Waves turned the tables with a 46 goal win over the Sovereigns (71-25). Waves’ goal circle defensive players Jess Maher and Adrienne Harris continued to be stand outs on the court.
The City West Falcons had the ultimate bounce back after playing three unsuccessful games on Sunday. The Falcons’ shooters maintained a high percentage of successful attempts at goal, while their defensive players restricted the Wilson Storage Southern Saints’ ability to feed the netball into their own goal circle. This ultimately lead to three competitive games where the Falcons were able to prevail in each grade.
The Southern Saints remain hopeful for round three when they will face Melbourne University Lightning.
The Geelong Cougars and Melbourne University Lightning executed three competitive matches after both teams ended last season as grand finalists. Displaying a very high standard of netball, the Geelong Cougars demonstrated why they are the reigning premiers in the 19/U and Division One grades after winning by 17 and 19 point margins in their respective divisions.
However, it was the Melbourne University Lightning who dominated the Championship match this round. The Lightning finished the game with a 15 goal lead against their Geelong opponents.
The closest games of the night occurred on Court Two between the Ariels and Hawks Netball Club. Each match had a final margin of less than 10 goals, resulting in a constant level of high intensity from the players.
At the end of the night, the Hawks proved to be the stronger competitor after walking away with two from three wins in the Division One and Championship divisions.
Round three of the Bupa VNL will occur at 7pm on Wednesday 9 May. Join us at the State Netball and Hockey Centre to watch the competitions take place!
