PREVIEW | VNL Round 8 2024: Time for a road trip
ROUND 8 of the Victorian Netball League sees the competition spread out, in both venue use and days in which the games are played.
There are only two fixtures slated for the State Netball Centre tonight, with the rest set to take place in various venues over the weekend.
Tonight’s first clash is between the City West Falcons and the Melbourne Uni Lightning.
The Falcons are likely favourites heading into the clash, but the Lightning will be buoyed by the confidence a narrow win can bring.
The other clash tonight is perhaps the more highly fancied of the two though, and will see the North East Blaze take on the Geelong Cougars.
Both teams are in the top half of the ladder, but it is a more crucial game for Geelong. If the Cougars are the ones to drop this match, it is going to be harder for them to keep their closest rivals ladder wise at bay than if the Blaze are the ones that lose.
The action then moves to Saturday, and down in Cranbourne the Casey Demons will be hosting the Peninsula Waves in the battle of the South East.
This may be one of the Waves’ best opportunities for a win. They are coming up against their nearest rivals on the ladder, and face a Casey side who by the time they take to the court will have not played a match in over two and a half weeks.
The rest of the action is on Sunday, and the first match is out in Cobblebank, in Melbourne’s west, and will see the Warriors take on the Hawks.
Western has been a little bit up and down in its debut season, but has matched it well with teams of similar quality than the Hawks, so perhaps can defy expectations tonight.
The final match of the weekend is in Bendigo, and will see the Strikers host the Express.
The Strikers are coming off a win, but the Express are a fair jump up in standard from the Warriors, so this week may be a bit trickier. However, the Strikers do have true home court advantage.
This week it is the Southern Saints who get the bye, and it comes at a good time for them to hit reset on their season.
VNL Round 8 Fixture
Wednesday
City West Falcons vs Melbourne Uni Lightning – State Netball Centre
North East Blaze vs Geelong Cougars – State Netball Centre
Saturday
Casey vs Peninsula Waves – Casey Stadium
Sunday
Western Warriors vs Hawks – Cobblebank Indoor Stadium
Bendigo Strikers vs Boroondara Express – Bendigo Stadium
Bye – Southern Saints
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