MELBOURNE Up & Comers have upset ladder leaders St Therese in the Victorian Men’s & Mixed Netball Association (VMMNA) 14 and Under division as the teams returned to action last Wednesday. While the other three matches across the 14 and 17 and Under grades went to plan, it was the third placed Melbourne Up & Comers who upstaged the previous 8-1 St Therese to draw level with WDNA in second.

14 & UNDER DIVISION:

Melbourne Up & Comers have been competitive all season, even snatching a win off WDNA earlier in the season, and showed they mean business for the 2022/23 M-League competition with a seven-goal victory over the premiership favourites. A fast start saw the Up & Comers race to a six-goal lead as Kobi Verwoert (five goals) and Lawson McCleish (four) took control early.

St Therese switched the defenders with Finn McLeod moved back to goal keeper, and Seamus Sullivan up to goal defence, while Maggie McLeod (wing defence into centre), Jason Cardassis (centre into wing attack) and Elliot Markonc (wing attack into wing defence) all rotated in the midcourt. Even in attack, St Therese switched their goals with Brodie Lilly (goal shooter into goal attack) and Wynter Morgan Eeles (goal attack into goal shooter) combining for six second quarter goals.

St Therese reduced the deficit to four by half-time, as Melbourne Up & Comers rotated players through the third term. Kai Verwoert and Brayden Almond switched in the defensive circle, while McCleish came into centre, and Rhiley Almond went from wing defence to goal attack. A strong 8-3 third term – with Kobi Verwoert scoring six goals – set up the win with a 21-12 lead.

Though St Therese hit back with a 9-7 final stanza, it would not be enough, as Melbourne Up & Comers secured a seven-goal victory, 28-21. Kobi Verwoert scored 20 goals in the win, with McCleish (six) chipping in, while for St Therese, Lilly shot 13 goals and Eeles finished with the eight.

In the other match, WDNA commanded a dominant 46-15 victory over TBC. Jack Campbell shot 28 goals as his side was potent at both ends of the court, while Noah Bacon finished with 18 for the game. River Zielinski was superb in defence and named best-on-court, while Tom Bryant tried hard for TBC starting in centre before rotating into the goal circle and scoring 12 of his team’s 15 goals.

17 & UNDER DIVISION:

In the 17 and Under grade, WDNA cruised to a 30-goal victory over Peninsula Waves. After a tight first term that saw the favourites lead by two goals at quarter time, but then the game opened up. Over the next two quarters, WDNA totalled up 34 goals to 12 to cement the result, with goal shooter Nicholas O’Meara having a ridiculous performance.

O’Meara shot 25 goals in those two quarters alone, and finished with 45 got the match, as WNDA finished off the game with a 15-10 term for a 63-33 victory. Campbell Brown started in goal attack for WNDA and shot seven goals in the first half, before returning to the court after a break in the third term to slot into goal keeper and was one of the best players on the court. Peninsula Waves’ Connor Drysdale worked hard at both ends of the court, scoring six goals in the second half.

In the other match, St Therese ran out 24-goal victors over Darebin in another terrific performance. Doubling their opponent’s score in the first term, St Therese held a five-goal lead, and then went out to 10 by the main break. The one-sided match continued into the second half as St Therese scored 14-6 in the third term before adding 14-8 in the last term to finish 48-24 ahead at the final buzzer.

Ryan Lovell was important in goal defence for the first half, then rotated into centre and wing defence for the second half to be voted best-on-court. Josh Francis scored 12 goals in a half at goal shooter after playing the first half in wing attack, while Darebin’s Hudson Ebbage was in defence the whole game and the standout in a losing side.