Season curtain call brings a largely as expected smorgasbord
THE final home and away round of the VNL Championship division produced an array of results that went as many would have expected.
One of those was the Geelong vs. Ariels clash, which saw the Cougars demolish the Ariels to the tune of 47 goals.
From the get go it was clear who the top side was and who the bottom side coming into the clash.
Geelong made a statement from the very first centre pass, and was able to race out to a lead of as much as seven goals, within as little time as the first five minutes.
Even when the Ariels did manage to get the ball into their offensive third, Geelong was able to intercept far too easily, and the speed with which the Cougars were able to move the ball down the court and into their shooters was remarkable.
The Ariels did score, but only about a quarter of what their opponents did as the Cougars went into the opening break with an 16-goal lead.
Despite heading into the game minus Julia Woolley, it did not worry Geelong as Daisy O’Kane stood up straight away and proved to be a worthy replacement for Wooley, partnering Zanna Woods in the shooting circle.
The second term was a much more even affair in the front half, with the Ariels able to really stem the tide of the Cougars’ shooting.
However, the Cougars reasserted some dominance in the back end of the term, and as such took a 24-goal lead into the major break.
The second half was a mere procession at times for the Cougars.
No matter what the likes of Monique Clark and Jayde Aron tried to do to stop the onslaught of goals from the Cougars they just kept on coming, with the margin staying above 20 goals for the entire half.
Geelong should have enjoyed the easier match while they had one, because things are only going to get harder from here as they progress into finals.
The other matches from around the league went largely as expected. The Hawks defeated the Waves pretty comfortably, as did the Falcons over the Express and the Lightning over the Demons. The only real surprise was that the North East Blaze only defeated the Southern Saints by seven goals.
VNL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 18 RESULTS
Hawks Netball (69) defeated Peninsula Waves (44)
North East Blaze (70) defeated Wilson Storage Southern Saints (63)
Geelong Cougars (75) defeated Ariels (28)
Boroondara Express (58) lost to City West Falcons (74)
Melbourne University Lightning (70) defeated Casey Demons (53)
Falcons fly high as Hawks survive first threat
THE City West Falcons are the first team through to the VNL Championship Grand Final after a 77-54 win over Boroondara Express in last night’s major semi-final. Although things started off tight between the sides, when the Falcons made some key positional changes in defence and attack they saw things swing in their favour, and […]
Action-packed final ANZ Premiership round an emotional finish
IT was an action-packed final round of the ANZ Premiership season, as the finalists were finally confirmed. Magic win but still miss finals Southern Steel (44) lost to WBOP Magic (55) Despite comfortably defeating the Steel by 11 goals on Saturday afternoon, the WBOP Magic have fallen agonisingly short of booking a spot in the […]
Chaotic round sees all loose ends tied up
IT was an action packed final day of the 2024 VNL Championship season, with plenty of elation, heartbreak and narrow escapes across the competition. Blaze suffer heartbreaking loss, but not all is lost The North East Blaze were unable to beat the Boroondara Express which they needed to do to make finals – losing by […]
ANZ Premiership finals positions still yet to be confirmed
THE penultimate round of the ANZ Premiership witnessed some surprising results as the race for finals heats up ahead of next week’s final round. Mystics remain in the contest after all important win Northern Mystics (68) defeated Central Pulse (58) The game just proved how important Grace Nweke is to the Mystics in her first […]
Spectacular finale sets stage for epic SSN finals
THE regular season of Super Netball has wrapped up, with joy for those in pink, but not for those in orange. Queensland Firebirds (52) defeated by Melbourne Vixens (62) Kim Ravaillion’s last national league game saw the Vixens get the upper hand by 10 goals in front of a hefty purple crowd. The Vixens actually […]
Surprises not forthcoming but anticipation still high
ROUND 21 of the VNL season may not have brought many surprises, but it did still leave plenty to play for in the season finale next week. Uni upset Blaze, finals spot in danger In the biggest surprise result of the night, Melbourne Uni upset the North East Blaze by 13 goals to put the […]
Strong second half efforts get Pulse over the line in thriller
THERE are only two more weeks to go in the ANZ Premiership regular season with Round 13 seeing some blowouts and a nailbiter. Tactix get convincing win over Stars Northern Stars (54) defeated by Mainland Tactix (65) The Tactix put on a clinical 60 minute display in front of a Stars home crowd, extending their […]
Visitors victorious as finals draw near
IT was a good weekend for the visiting sides in the SSN last weekend, with all four travelling sides recording the win. Mavericks escape with narrow win, keep finals hopes alive The Melbourne Mavericks are still in the hunt to make finals in their debut season after coming away with a win over the GIANTS […]
Some VNL dreams alive, others dashed
THE third last round of the VNL season saw some teams keep their dreams alive, while other sides had theirs crushed. Express dodge Strikers in narrow win The Booroondara Express escaped with a narrow win over the Bendigo Strikers to keep themselves ahead in the race for second spot. The Express lead narrowly at the […]
