CITY West Falcons won back-to-back premierships in the Victorian Netball League (VNL) championship division after a fourth quarter turnaround, going home victorious by six-goals (54-60).
The Falcons came into the game with a lot of confidence. Minor premiers, 18 wins in a row, and the upper hand on Boroondara Express winning both previous encounters. This did not stop Express from making their presence felt in the competition and challenging the Falcons every minute in the final, not allowing the Falcons to gain a massive lead.
There were plenty of battles throughout the court, making it a very entertaining final for the crowd.
Falcons jumped out to an early six-goal lead going into the first break off the hand of some amazing midcourt defensive efforts from player of the match Montana Holmes. She was able to be that link between defence and attack and make the Falcons line up flow so seamlessly.
A few three goal runs to the Falcons allowed their lead to slowly creep out and stop Express from reducing the deficit.
Express came out of the first break firing, going on to take the lead by two at half time.
Casey Adamson stepped it up defensively with her shift back into wing defence, narrowing the vision and closing off the long passes from Maggie Lind into the shooting circle for the Falcons. In the blink of an eye, Boroondara were in the lead thanks to a full court effort.
A fairly even third term was preparing both sides for a massive fourth quarter performance to truly test the players and how they would cope under pressure.
The fourth quarter had City West written all over it, taking it convincingly and regaining back their ever so dominant lead to win the game.
A huge night at the post for Jane Cook was required for the Falcons to win it all, and she did just that with 51 goals, only missing one in the opening few minutes. It was no easy route though with Sarah Szczykulski challenging every pass into Cook while getting some intercepts and deflections.
A six goal run for the Falcons in the fourth term secured them the premiership, knowing that Boroondara had no way of clawing back to win in the dying minutes of the game. It was a tough battle for both sides, but the City West Falcons handled the load better and came out victorious for the 2023 VNL season.
VICTORIAN NETBALL LEAGUE GRAND FINAL RESULTS
Championship: City West Falcons (60) defeated Boroondara Express (54)
Division One: Geelong Cougars (59) defeated North East Blaze (48)
Under 19’s: City West Falcons (32) defeated by Melbourne University Lightning (45)
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