ROUND 8 of Men’s Premier Division saw some big results, with Sirens Netball dropping their second match of the season to Pasifika Sharks (58-66) in a physical affair, while Geelong Cougars had an easy win over Ariels (60-33) to maintain top spot on the ladder. St Therese went a long way to getting back to the top end of the ladder with an impressive win over DDNA, defeating them 64-31.

The match of the round was ultimately between Southern Seahawks and Melbourne City Blackhawks, with the Seahawks coming back for vengeance after going down by 17 goals to the Blackhawks back in Round 1. While the Seahawks certainly put up a fight, it was the Blackhawks that took the win with a seven-goal margin, 43-36. The match was a tight battle, with scores constantly fluctuating as both sides fought for momentum. Although the Blackhawks took a solid eight goal lead into the second half the Seahawks were unwilling to let the game go, shooting 12 goals to seven in the third to edge closer and put them within a fighting chance in the final quarter. The Blackhawks upped the accuracy in the final quarter however, pulling off a solid victory to stay safe in fourth. The defensive effort of both sides was immense, with the predominantly defensive game playing out with plenty of flying intercepts and turnovers across the court keeping the ball away from the post. The Seahawks showed plenty of promise throughout, stalling the ball through the midcourt to create turnovers and stopping the Blackhawks attacking movement in its tracks. Massive efforts from the likes of James Robertson, Hadley Dixon, Joel Gosbell and Matthew Doyle kept the ball flying down court for their respective sides. For the Seahawks, Sam Mackerras and Timothy Malmo put Blackhawks shooters David Chisholm and Daniel Cooke through their paces, unrelenting in their pressure and rebounding. Suncorp Super Netball umpires James Matthews and Tim Marshall lead the Blackhawks’ charge from defence, working well to deny ball into the circle with shooters Bala Lange and Jayden Cowling seemingly having the ball on a string at times.