ALTHOUGH the winners in last night’s VNL action may not surprise many, the margins by which they did win may certainly intrigue.

Bendigo picked up the sixth win of its debut campaign after defeating Casey.

Initially though it was the Dees who held the advantage, taking a small lead into quarter time. But that all changed in the second term as the Strikers went in front at the main break. The lead remained tight in the second half, but ultimately that second quarter was the turning point in the match as the Strikers maintained their advantage through the second half.

Geelong’s push to get into the top four took a hit after the Cougars lost to City West Falcons.

The match was tight in the first term, but it all changed quickly in the second term. The Falcons’ lead was only three goals at the first change, but after multiple runs of several goals in a row, their lead was up to eight at the main break, and they did not look back from there.

The Western Warriors pulled off an upset against Boroondara but ultimately fell three goals short.

The Express were the more dominant team early in the match and lead by as much as 10 goals heading into the final term. But, with only a matter of about five minutes to go, the Warriors string a run of four goals in a row, and the comeback was on. However, they were not able to maintain the pressure and ultimately could not get over the line.

The North East Blaze picked up a crucial win in their quest to maintain their spot in the top four after comfortably accounting for the Peninsula Waves.

The Blaze were already 10 goals up at the first change, and that truly was a sign of what was to come. Things got even worse for the Waves in the second term as the Blaze scored 23 goals to seven in the term and the writing truly was on the wall for the Waves.

The Hawks also picked up a crucial win in the race for the top four after narrowly defeating the Southern Saints.

The Saints took the lead early, but by the time the main break come around the lead had flipped to the Hawks. The Hawks were then the more dominant side in the first half of the third term before the Saints fought back hard and the margin was again small heading into the last term. However the Saints ultimately could not get the job done and completely eliminate the deficit.

VNL Round 17 Results

Casey (60) lost to Bendigo (66)

Geelong (55) lost to City West (72)

Western Warriors (63) lost to Boroondara (66)

Peninsula (46)) lost to North East (83)

Southern Saints (50) lost to Hawks (54)

BYE: Melbourne Uni