THE opening round of Men’s Premier Division started with a bang, with blowout games aplenty and both new and returning teams finding some good form to start the season. Geelong Cougars slipped right back into top spot after their 2018 premiership season, defeating the Ariels in their Premier Division debut by a measly 25 goals (63-38). In other games, Pasifika Sharks defeated Sirens (64-56) in a relatively close affair, with New Zealand Men’s starting goalers at the helm for the Sharks, while Melbourne City Blackhawks ran away with a 17-goal victory over Southern Seahawks after a convincing second quarter effort all but cemented the win.

St Therese well and truly asserted themselves on the competition on debut, defeating returnees DDNA by a solid 23-goal margin (64-41). While DDNA kept even throughout the first, a massive 21-goal second quarter effort from the Saints saw them take a solid lead. A strong final quarter from DDNA saw them win the last term but it was too little too late. This may be a question mark for the Saints though, with such a strong second and third quarter effort almost going downhill shooting only 13 goals in the final term. The defensive effort of Dylan Nexhip was impressive across the board, rotating through positions down back limiting DDNA to only seven goals in the second quarter. Brother Corey Nexhip (37 goals) worked well in the circle for St Therese with the ball on a string thanks to the feeds of Guy Keane in wing attack. Through the midcourt for DDNA, Jason Heard and Bryce Rowley shared the load at circle edge to feed into attack but to no avail against the Saints.

Sirens Netball (56) defeated by Pasifika Sharks (64)
Geelong Cougars (63) defeated Ariels (38)
DDNA (41) defeated by St Therese (64)
Southern Seahawks (34) defeated by Melbourne City Blackhawks (51)