A STRONG performance from towering goal shooter Liam Killey has spurred on LTU to victory against Ariels, recording an impressive win in the M-League Premier Mixed Round 7 action last night. In the closest match of a blowout night, LTU got up by 11 goals despite being challenged by Ariels on a number of occasions. In the end though, Killey scored 53 goals in his side’s 60-49 win.

Out on Court 8, Killey caused all sorts of problems for Ariels captain Dan Stone, who admittedly did as well as he could, but struggled to match his opponent’s incredible reach. Though Stone timed his jumps and runs to get to the right spots, the extra height allowed Killey to tip the ball higher and then take full control of it, before nailing each shot. Even the ones he missed, Killey was more often than not capable of pulling down the rebound and scoring off the second chance effort.

Killey had 30 goals on the board by half-time as LTU pressed hard in the first two quarters, winning each term by four goals to take a 34-26 advantage into the main break. The Ariels shooting partnership of Dale Mason and Jemma Osborne shared the load, with Osborne shooting 15 goals and Mason 11, before the former came off for a rest in the third term. That quarter did not prove much more fruitful, though the Ariels only lost it by a goal.

With Osborne returning to the court for the final term – after Ally Black was thrown into goal attack to mix it up and scored eight goals – Ariels began to make a comeback, closing the gap to six goals early in the quarter. Unfortunately the consistency of the LTU attacking end proved too much as Killey was feeding off some accurate passes from Emily Priddle and Elias Kafritsas and finishing off the game with all 13 of his team’s fourth quarter goals to cap off a complete performance.

It was no surprise to see the shooter named best on court, though Charlotte Crook – who spent the night on Osborne – was also impressive for her work in defence. Ryan Towers was voted the best for the Ariels with a hard-running four quarters in centre. Osborne would finish the match with 22 goals in three quarters, while Mason had 19. With a fourth straight loss the Ariels will be hoping to turn their form around in Round 8 next week.

When you’re missing up to six of your starting seven, the last thing you want to see is the Australian goal attack joining the opposition side, who also happen to be the unbeaten ladder leaders. Unfortunately for third placed Altona Falcons, that was exactly what happened when Brodie Roberts took to the court for Parkville Panthers. Roberts scored seven goals and set up multiple scoring chances for Kaylia Stanton and Amy Starzer in Parkville’s huge 63-32 win. Tristan Comans and Bridget Aughton were among the best for their work in defence, while an understrength Falcons side blooded several new players, and Nathan Selvidge worked hard all game.

Geelong had a far tougher game against NNE Vipers, but managed to eventually shake them off by 12 goals. Due to being late, Geelong was penalised two goals and therefore only lead the Vipers by three at the first break, but got into their momentum by the second half, scoring 32-23 in the double-digit victory. Zanna Woods was superb in goal attack for Geelong, teaming up well with Cameron Allum. Charlotte Davies was the Vipers’ best in wing defence.

In the other match, Melbourne Quakes made it three consecutive wins by taking care of Valley Wolves, running out 25-goal victors in the end. The Quakes trailed at quarter time and only lead by three at the main break, but dominated the second half with a 43-21 scoreline. That lead to a 64-39 victory, with David Chisholm scoring 36 goals in the final three quarters, and the likes of Olivia Cameron and Ronan Pring controlling the midcourt and defence respectively. With some quality teammates missing, Monique Nagle stepped into goal shooter for the first half and scored 15 goals before rolling back to wing attack.

M-LEAGUE MIXED PREMIER ROUND 7 RESULTS:

LTU (60) defeated Ariels (49)
Geelong (59) defeated NNE Vipers (47)
Parkville Panthers (63) defeated Altona Falcons (32)
Melbourne Quakes (64) defeated Valley Wolves (39)