MINIMAL spectators returned to the fray as the Victorian Netball League (VNL) Championship division completed its eighth round of action on Wednesday evening. We wrap up the talking points of the inaugural VNL Pride Round.

Ariels (50) defeated by Hawks Netball (75)

The opening clash of the round was always set to be a tough one, as the Ariels fell to the Hawks on home court. Trailing by just five goals at the first break, the Ariels struggled to combat the Hawks, while the Hawks in turn steadily piled on the offensive pressure and added to the scoreboard. While a 19-goal second quarter allowed the Hawks to create separation heading into the second half with a 10-goal buffer, a 20-12 final quarter saw the Hawks generate some real momentum, heading up the ladder by percentage to finish with the 15-goal victory.

Despite the scoreline, there was no shortage of tough one-on-one contests across the court. Rahni Samason returned to the fray after stepping up to the Suncorp Super Netball for a couple of rounds, but despite sitting on a 96 per cent accuracy she was well-covered at times by Clare Johnson who worked in overdrive to shut her down. Chloe Sinclair and Sally Deller did an exceptional job of shutting down the playmaking and workrate of Olivia Morris and Stacey Gannon, rendering the duo inaccurate and lacking the volume required to really assist Samason at the post. Comparatively, it was the shared effort that made the Hawks so potent in attack with Nat Billings (28 goals from 32 attempts), Tayla Shannon (29 from 32) and Daisy Hill (18 from 28) all plying their trade with relative ease. Ball was served on a silver platter credit to the workrate of Alexandra Salter and Emma Allman, who played a half each out in wing attack, while Jasmine Ferguson forced changes aplenty in centre as the Ariels applied three different players to combat her impressive workload. Brodie Smith, Monique Clark and Jessica Maher all worked hard to negate the great movement and rotation of the Hawks attack, but it was to no avail.

City West Falcons (53) defeated Melbourne University Lightning (44)

The real show-stopper of the round was the one versus two clash between the Falcons and Lightning, with Lightning appearing early to have the upper hand before Falcons well and truly blew the undefeated side out of the water. Forced to make change after change in an effort to steal back control, Melbourne University looked uncomfortable and out of their depth for the first time this season as they went down by a whopping nine-goal margin and lost top spot on the ladder. An 18-12 first quarter told much of the story of the match, with the Falcons commanding turnover ball and capitalising impressively off Uni’s turnovers, and whilst the second half was not quite as impressive, there was no doubt the Falcons’ workrate put the Lightning on the back foot and forced errors from the usually clinical side.

Falcons goal defence Zoe Davies was an absolute weapon throughout the entire 60 minutes, not once letting up and all but forcing Claudia Mawson out of the contest as the usually impactful goal attack struggled to hit the scoreboard, and even rotated into centre in the final term to add something extra. Soli Ropati was well-matched with Jordan Cransberg when the two went head-to-head, while Montana Holmes was a real livewire through the centre, taking on Shae Brown and coming off the better as she controlled the airways with ease. A combination of Sarah Szczykulski and Melissa Oloamanu wreaked havoc on the usually accurate and composed Mikaela Vaughn, as the two goal keepers used their respective smarts to shut down drives close to the post and open up opportunities for Davies to get hands on the loose ball. At the other end, Jane Cook was a force to be reckoned with piling on 42 goals at 86 per cent, with her towering height and improved elevation making it hard for Fiona Fowler to work her way into the contest. While Vixens training partner Gabby Coffey had a big start, she could not contain playmaker Madelyn Gray for long as she worked well in tandem with Maggie Lind to propel ball into the circle with ease, adding nine goals to the table in the process.

North East Blaze (57) defeated by Casey Demons (70)

A huge first quarter effort set the tone as Casey downed the Blaze, with the 23-12 opener setting up a huge contest with the Demons going full throttle. Tested hard in their Round 7 matchup last week, Casey did not leave anything to chance in this clash as they vied to remain in top four contention, not relenting throughout the entire contest despite the Blaze working their way back into the match at times. Casey’s ability to score quickly and efficiently continues to put their opposition in a twist, with their quick ball movement and full court defence proving too much for the Blaze, who sink down to fifth with this loss.

Emma Ryde continues to be pivotal for this Demons side, with the goal shooter piling on a whopping 59 goals at 94 per cent while Sacha McDonald was her usual playmaker self out the front, using her strong drives and vision to steal away attention and open up Ryde at the post. Ruby Turner just did not have the height to match Ryde despite the intent well and truly being there, as Tayissa Coppinger worked in overdrive to render McDonald to just the 11 goals from 17 attempts. Emma Thompson and Tayla Honey were immense with their speed and smarts down court, while Olivia Macente also earned time out in centre in the third term to add some fresh legs and combat the workrate of Chloe Lambert. Defensively the Demons would not relent, with changes aplenty not stopping the flow of their pressure. Demi Woodlock, Georgia Vines and Sharni Lambden all worked hard to apply pressure on South Australian Nyah Allen, who piled on 34 goals from 39 attempts, while Georgia Moody worked hard for her 15 from 19 and Abigail Gedge shot true with eight goals straight.

Southern Saints (54) defeated Peninsula Waves (41)

The battle between the winless sides proved to be a kicker, as the Southern Saints ran home with an impressive 13-goal victory. With great form behind them after testing Casey last week, this match was a chance for the Saints to showcase their development as they outclassed the Waves throughout the challenging matchup. Despite the Waves really pushing hard early on, down by two at the first change and four at the second, a huge 16-9 third term from the Saints proved too much for Peninsula to handle. While the Saints coaching staff switched around their starting seven to their heart’s content, Peninsula retained a settled lineup for majority of the contest, with fatigue getting in the way as the second half margin ballooned out.

There is no doubt that the Saints shone defensively, turning around their early form to collect a heap of turnover ball. Stephanie McNay and Lyshae Barry have been steadily building throughout the season with their ball-winning ability and niggling play style forcing errors from the Waves, as Clare Vearing (29 goals from 38 attempts) and Stacie Gardner (12 from 17) struggled to find the ball within the goal circle. Gabrielle Dwyer‘s workrate in the first half was immense however she was well and truly whittled down by Lorna Clark, who made Dwyer work to achieve circle edge, as both sides rotated through their centres to account for the leaps in momentum. Shannon Rennison and Tara Cecil worked hard to combat the smooth movement of the Saints frontend, with the latter negating Sam Silvester‘s impact on the game, and the former piling on immense pressure to render Sinead Lumsden inaccurate in the first. However the fresh combination of Ella Quinlan (29 goals from 36 attempts in three quarters) and Lumsden from the second quarter onwards did the trick.  The goal attack in Lumsden found much better space to combine effortlessly with Alesina Toleafoa and Ashleigh Gill at the centre pass, with Lumsden finding her range and missing just three goals after her shaky first quarter, finishing with 21 goals.

Boroondara Express (40) defeated by Geelong Cougars (55)

Geelong have slipped back into the top four with a comprehensive 15-goal win over Boroondara to close out the round’s action, with an early lead blossoming into a consistent outing for the Cougars. With plenty of class across the court the Cougars would always be out hunting, as an 18-12 final term put the nail in the coffin of what had ultimately been a hard-fought clash between the two sides, with Express’ accuracy to post meaning Geelong had to work in overdrive to create turnovers. That being said, the Cougars were too good on this occasion, finding the post with ease and utilising their bench to add to the margin.

Uneeq Palavi is always hard to stop in attack, with her accuracy and strength continuously allowing her to add to the scoreboard. This match was no different, finishing with 25 goals from 32 attempts, however it was the defensive pressure on her fellow goaler in starter Stephanie Gorrie (four from four) and later subs Chevvone Thomson (seven from nine) and Isabelle Hodgson (four from seven), that saw Geelong retain control for the full 60 minutes. Brooke Allan was impactful as ever, out hunting from the get-go and using her exceptional elevation to get hands to turnover ball. She was ably assisted by Victoria Honner and Indya Forde throughout, while the long arms of Ruby Pekin-Schlicht and strong drives of Honner and Alexandra O’Connor paid off against the likes of both Eleanor Leydin and Zali Anderson. Bridgette Furphy (16 from 27) was not quite her usual accurate self credit to the workrate from Michelle Massarany, as Tegan Stephenson and Sophie Shoebridge worked hard to combat the likes of Julia Woolley and Zanna Woods, whose accuracy was on show as they combined for 39 goals from 45 attempts. Casey Adamson worked in overdrive to limit Emily Post, Kaitlyn Sheringham and Madi Browne, forcing changes aplenty in wing attack for the Cougars as they looked to find circle edge more freely.

Picture credit: Netball Victoria