ROUND 2 of the Victorian Netball League Championship Division lived up to the expectations with exciting games happening at both Parkville and Melbourne Sports Aquatic Centre. Casey Demons and North East Blaze are the only sides that remain undefeated after two rounds, while both the Cougars and Falcons notched up their first wins of the season.

Boroondara Express (51) defeated by Casey Demons (60)

Casey Demons made it two from two to start their 2021 campaign with another solid performance, this time against Boroondara Express who are yet to win a game. The Demons got off to a hot start but Express hit back in the second and third quarters to steal the lead and really assert their dominance. But the class and skill of Casey came out in the final stanza of play with the Demons adding a whopping 20 goals to their tally while Express could only shoot 10 goals.

With the likes of Emma Ryde holding down the goal shooter position and owning the circle not only with her clever movement, but so too her accuracy to post, it was always going to be a challenging encounter for Express. In fact, Ryde only missed one goal for the entire game with her most prolific quarter coming in the fourth where she piled on 18 goals straight. She was ably assisted by Sacha McDonald who played a nifty supplementary shooter role and was crafty with ball in hand, as Tayla Honey and Sharni Lambden combined through the midcourt. Uneeq Palavi was the mainstay for Express under the post, consistently commanding the ball and converting at a relatively high rate. Her partnership with Isabelle Hodgson was strong with the two really finding their groove in the second to combine for 19 goals. Defensively, Tegan Stephenson plied her trade for Express while the combination of Julia Smith and Karli Foster came up big for the Demons in the final term.

North East Blaze (62) defeated Hawks Netball (53)

North East Blaze got the job done against Hawks Netball by nine goals in a hard-fought slog filled with plenty of momentum shifts. It was a much closer game than the scoreboard would indicate with both sides having their moments and really shining, but in the end it was the Hawks that eventually fell away, unable to go with the final term push from the Blaze.

Boasting the likes of Collingwood Magpies training partner, Nyah Allen the Blaze had a strong attacking unit that could find easy access to post. Allen swung between both goal shooter and goal attack and arguably did some of her best work out in goal attack given her speed and dynamic movement to bring the ball down the court. The introduction of Ella Bayliss worked wonders for the Blaze attack, with the crafty wing attack able to open up the goal circle with relative ease while Kali Dolphin played a strong role both in centre and wing defence. Tayissa Coppinger was a real livewire in defence for the Blaze, contesting everything that came her way and putting doubt into the feeders’ minds. For the Hawks, the influence of Nat Billings was undeniable with the goal shooter a commanding presence thanks to her strong holds, clever read of the play and sheer accuracy to post. Jasmine Ferguson was a real workhorse through the centre, playing out the entire game and not giving an inch – such was her endurance and netball nous, particularly around circle edge.

Ariels (41) defeated by Geelong Cougars (68)

The Cougars secured their first win of the season and did so in convincing fashion, running out 27-goal victors over the Ariels. Geelong gained the early advantage with a three-goal lead despite the Ariels’ accuracy to post nailing, 12 goals straight in the opening term. This momentum trickled into the second quarter as the Cougars continued to press, adding 16 goals to their tally while suffocating the movement of the Ariels in attack to limit them to a mere nine goals for the term. As the game went on the confidence only grew from Geelong, as they piled on a whipping 37 goals with 21 of them coming in the third quarter, a clear testament of the star power they possess.

Peninsula Waves (41) defeated City West Falcons (69)

City West Falcons inflicted some pain on Peninsula Waves as they skipped out to an early lead and did not look back, steadily building on their buffer to win by 28 goals. It was a complete performance by the Falcons who controlled proceedings from the opening minutes and did not relent on their pressure contesting hard and generating a wealth of turnover ball to go up the other end and score. Adding 20 goals to their tally in the third quarter was essentially the nail in the coffin for the Waves, as City West kicked it up another gear.

Melbourne University Lightning v. Southern Saints

At time of publishing, scores are yet to be released.

Photo: Netball Victoria