AFTER an out of the ordinary weekend round, it is back to the usual Wednesday night schedule this week in the Victorian Netball League (VNL).

Tonight’s action marks the one third mark of the 2023 season, and though so much has happened already, there is still so much to go. The Round 6 action begins with the Waves taking on the Lightning.

This fixture presents the perfect opportunity for particularly the Lightning to get their season going. They may only have two wins on the board, but boast the fourth-best percentage in the league, so a win here could propel them upwards. However, the Waves will be frustrated after not picking up their first win of the season last weekend against Casey.

Speaking of frustration, two clubs keen to rectify last week’s results – the Hawks and Express – will face each other this time out.

The Express suffered their first loss of the season last week and relinquished top spot on the ladder, while the Hawks were outclassed by the Saints. The Express will likely go into the match as favourites, but the Hawks will be keen to bounce back, especially since they need the wins to keep in touch with the top half of the ladder.

In a similar vein, the Blaze will be particularly eager to defeat Casey to stay in touch with the top four. They are only a win outside the four, but with the top four in such good form this season, every win counts for those trying to catch them.

Casey will be feeling an extra bit confident after finally picking up their first win of the season last week, but do not face an easy task to try and keep that winning momentum going.

The one match with potential to be very one-sided is the clash between the City West Falcons and Ariels. An almost top versus bottom situation, City West is in a good run of form at the momentum and the Ariels are not. In saying that, similar situations have resulted in very close results sometimes in the past, so nothing really is for certain.

One clash that should be close and is arguably the match of the round is the final one, between the Southern Saints and Geelong Cougars. Third versus fourth, both sides finding themselves in very different situations to last season at the moment, all the ingredients for a potentially very entertaining clash to close out the round.

VNL ROUND 6 FIXTURE

Hawks Netball vs Boroondara Express
Wilson Storage Southern Saints vs Geelong Cougars
Peninsula Waves vs Melbourne University Lightning
Casey Demons vs North East Blaze
City West Falcons vs Ariels