NETBLACKS strung together their third consecutive M-League Men’s Premier victory last night, defeating Altona Falcons by 14 goals in Round 6 of the 2022/23 season. After starting the season a little slow with two consecutive losses, regaining stars like Junior Levi and Deepak Patu following international duties for New Zealand kick-started the reigning grand finalists season. In their latest win, Netblacks started strong and kept the Falcons at arms-length to run out 58-44 winners.

Once again out on the main Court 1, Netblacks raced away to a 17-7 lead by quarter time. Levi was on fire, piling on 16 goals himself, as the Falcons attack struggled to mount a challenge. Luke Marko Rawlings started in goal shooter, but after just the four goals, was thrown into defence alongside Andrew Burgess, in order to combat Levi. Andrew Lewis utilised his versatility and adaptability by landing in goal shooter, where he would have an immediate impact.

Lewis scored 12 goals in the second term and actually outscored Levi, as Josh Feeney and Adam Franz were combining well to nullify the impact of Patu. The margin was still substantial at six goals by half-time, but the game was back on. Unfortunately for the Falcons, Patu would awaken and produce a best-on performance through the midcourt, as he and Levi once again combined for the latter to put up 15 third quarter goals. Kai Suzuki-McGauran and Jesse Failla shared the load in wing attack.

Now out to a nine-goal buffer again with a quarter to play, the Netblacks continued to press, with Levi finishing with another 14 goals in the final term to bring his night’s total to 55. Brandon D’Monte provided four, but was key in finding space in and around the circle to feed to Levi. Up the other end, Jake Schuster did well against a strong defence, taking on Josh Smith and keeping him to 12 goals for the game. His job was made much easier by the fact Altona was missing Australian goal attack Brodie Roberts.

The final score read 58-44 with Patu named best-on for his brilliant work in the centre, while Levi’s 55 goals – and dominance across three of the four quarters in particular – also earned him high praise. Lewis finished the night with 28 goals, a fine effort considering he played the first term in defence, with his 12-goal second term sparking a mini-revival. Altona Falcons will be the last team to have the bye next week after sitting second coming into the match, while Netblacks have moved into third and will take over that second spot with a big win in Round 7.

Over on Court 5, reigning premiers St Therese put the foot down against Boroondara Thunder, running away a massive 32-goal winner. Though the season has not quite gone to plan given the high level of absences through international duties, St Therese is starting to click into gear and produced the 72-40 goal performance.

Jake Hederics played a half in attack and scored 27 goals, with usual shooters, Connor Lilly (25) and Tom Hardwick (20) also influential. Jayden Cowling in wing attack provided plenty of critical goal assists, while Riley Richardson was just used sparingly with a quarter in centre. For the Thunder, David Chisholm was the standout, scoring 19 goals against a tough defence.

Ladder leaders City Heat continued their flawless start to the season with a comprehensive 35-goal win over Ariels. From the opening centre pass it was clear the Heat were there to play, and piled on 18 goals to seven by quarter time. The dominance continued into the second term, boasting a 35-15 lead, and though Ariels managed to reduce the Heat’s scoring a touch in the second half, the ladder leaders still scored 30 goals to 15, allowing for the 65-30 victory.

Brodie McCleish was outstanding in attack, scoring 18 goals in three quarters, while Cameron Allum notched up 43 goals across the entire match. Josh Byron came on at quarter time and worked hard in defence, while Jake Noonan provided his usual commanding presence in centre, and even played the final quarter in wing defence. Brendan Nick and Dan King tried hard in defence for Ariels, but had their work cut out for them all night.