IN a game that had plenty of twists and turns, neither Ariels nor NNE Vipers could be split by the final whistle of the Victorian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association (VMMNA)’s Mixed Premier Division Round 5 clash. In the final round of the 2021 calendar year, both sides had produced one win from four games prior to the clash, and the result would be ladder-defining. In the end, it was possibly the one scenario not taken into account, with both teams scoring 39 goals and included a frantic finish.

The second Mixed Premier Division game of the night followed on from Valley Wolves taking down Melbourne Quakes, meaning third spot was up for grabs if the Ariels could win. Though a loss, would result in them slipping all the way down to sixth, such was the tightness of the mid-table. The first term was not the greatest of spectacles, with both teams committing turnovers, and missing chances under the post.

Four minutes into the contest and the score was a goal apiece, and it was the trend for h opening term. The Ariels did get a mini-gap on the scoreboard at 5-3 courtesy of the reliable shooting from Kurt Thompson, but for the home side, it was more about feeding it into the circle for him to capitalise. Up the other end, the feeding was not an issue, but inaccuracy early was. Luckily a beautiful feed into the circle resulted in Alex Green reducing the deficit, and whilst both sides had some turnovers to finish the term, a goal in the last 10 second to the Vipers saw the score level at eight goals apiece.

The second term opened up more for the Vipers who after missing an earlier chance and went down 10-9, scored three consecutive goals to level the score at 12-apiece. From there though, the midcourt and transition of the Vipers opened up a five-goal lead, scoring six of the next seven goals with Ben Bruitzman in the centre bib particularly impressive in transition. With a 12-7 term, the Vipers head into half-time with a 20-15 lead.

That advantage increased by one a quarter later, as the Vipers started strong in the term off the back of some positional changes. Dan Stone was stepping up for the Ariels in defence, and limiting the impact of the Vipers transition. Midway through the term, the lead had blown out to eight goals and it was almost looking like they were going to run away with it. Unfortunately, injury struck the Vipers’ shooting circle and between the end of the third term and first three and half minutes of the fourth term, the Ariels piled on four straight goals to cut the deficit back to two.

The final term saw the Ariels charge home with Ally Black moving into wing attack from goal attack in the final term, and despite trailing by as much as four goals later in the term, hit the finish line the stronger of the sides. Even after the Vipers had it down their end in the dying seconds to level the score, the Ariels threw everything that could at trying to get the win. They ran out of time in the end, and both sides settled on 39 goals apiece after a 13-7 term in favour of the Ariels.

Charlotte Davies was outstanding in the centre bib for the Ariels throughout the first three quarters, while Jamie O’Hare rotated between the two wing bibs. For the Vipers, Bruitzman was strong in his centre battle, whilst Bridget Ryan was a reliable source in the goal circle.

The other two matches which did yield both a winner and loser could not have been more different. In the thriller, Valley Wolves overcame Melbourne Quakes by one goal to move up the ladder into third and leap-frogged the Quakes in the process. Jumped in the first quarter to trail by five goals (12-17) off the back of a shared load from Quakes shooters Rebecca Winch and Jayden Cowling, it was the change of goal keeper Alastair Punshon that turned the game.

Punshon switched into the attacking goal circle from the second term, and piled in 13 goals as he helped guide the Wolves back to level pegging at the half. Karina Martin and Monique Nagal were working well in transition for the Wolves, whilst the Quakes rotated players around through the middle of the game with Elly Randall coming on in wing defence then goal keeper, and Caitlin Cooke and Simon Cartwright rotating through the other defensive positions.

In the end though, the Wolves got the better of the Quakes, opening up a six-goal lead at the final break. It meant the score was 34-23 since quarter time, and whilst the visitors hit back hard in the last term, it would not be enough with the Wolves grabbing the 55-54 win in nail-biting fashion. Erin Jay was impressive for the Wolves alongside Punshon, with Nat Billings scoring 10 goals in the third quarter to open up that big lead. Winch was the standout for the Quakes in the loss.

Meanwhile the other game had no questions about the better side, with Parkville Panthers showing absolutely no mercy to the winless Eastside Sonics. In what was essentially a top-against-bottom clash given Parkville just needed to win to secure top spot with Geelong Cougars having the bye, the Panthers never looked close to losing, running out 51-goal winners. From the opening centre pass it was clear the contest was a mis-match as the Panthers hit double-figures incredibly quickly.

Brodie Roberts was just ridiculous in the first quarter, feasting on the dominance of his midcourt. He scored a mind-boggling 24 goals. The Sonics had no answers for him or most of the midcourt, with Elly Leydin having an outstanding game through wing attack and then sliding into goal attack. Though only scoring the six second half goals, she supported Connor Lilly and Jake Hederics who all got their chance to shoot.

Lilly played goal shooter in the second and third terms to pile on 30 goals, whilst Hederics – who started in his familiar goal keeper role – played a third term in centre and then moved into goal shooter where he finished with 15 goals in the last quarter. Amy Starzer started in goal attack and was moved to wing defence, named among the best in the win, with the Panthers romping to victory despite not having either Riley Richardson or Ellen Doyle who would have even strengthened the side.

Though it was a heavy loss for the Sonics, Brandon D’Monte did have a good second half, coming on to score 19 goals as the Sonics piled on 24 goals in that period compared to just 12 in the first half. Similarly, whilst they still lost the half by 10 goals with the Panthers scoring 34, it was not as severe as the first half, where they trailed 53-12 at the main break.

MIXED PREMIER DIVISION ROUND 5 RESULTS:

Ariels (39) drew with NNE Vipers (39)
Parkville Panthers (87) defeated Eastside Sonics (36)
Valley Wolves (55) defeated Melbourne Quakes (54)