THE VICTORIAN Netball League was back last week, with not all results going the way some may have expected.
In the Grand Final rematch, it was Geelong who avenged its loss in last season’s decider by defeating City West 51 goals to 48.
Geelong got off to the perfect start, pinching a goal off the first centre pass and skipping out to a two goal to none lead before the Falcons had got one on the board.
Momentum really was with the Cougars early as they stretched their lead out to as much as five goals as they were really capitalising on turnover ball.
The Falcons then started to capitalise on some turnover ball of their own and ate away at the lead slightly, but could not fully eliminate the lead.
They got within two, but the margin ultimately sat at three at quarter time.
The Falcons got off to the perfect start in the second quarter, levelling things up before the Cougars snuck ahead again.
It was a high paced start to the quarter, but within the first five minutes the lead was back out to as much as four goals in favour of the home side.
The Cougars kept their foot on the gas, kept momentum and were rewarded with a lead that got out to as much as six goals.
However as the main break drew closer the Falcons really kicked into gear and closed the gap to as low as two goals.
Unfortunately for the Falcons the margin being that small did not last long as the Cougars reasserted control.
When the half time buzzer went the margin sat at five goals in favour of the Cougars.
The Cougars maintained a pretty steady lead right the way through the third term.
It fluctuated between two and five goals but was still pretty steady throughout.
In the end though the margin was back at the half time margin of five as the teams turned for home.
City West got close to finally levelling up the affair again in the final term, but could get no closer than within a goal of the Cougars.
The Cougars got the margin out to as much as six goals, and staved off a bit of a late fightback from their visitors to nab the first up win.
Geelong was not the only side to make a statement in the opening round of the season.
The Southern Saints showed they mean business in 2023, downing last year’s preliminary finalists Melbourne Uni.
The North East Blaze picked up a solid win over the Ariels, as did the Boroondara Express by an extra goal more.
Hawks Netball also picked up a first up win, downing Casey by seven goals.
VICTORIAN NETBALL LEAGUE ROUND 1 RESULTS
Casey Demons (45) lost to Hawks Netball (52)
Melbourne University (43) lost to Southern Saints (51)
Peninsula Waves (41) lost to Boroondara Express (60)
Ariels (42) lost to North East Blaze (60)
Geelong Cougars (51) defeated City West Falcons (48)
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