IN one of the most action-packed, enthralling matches of the Victorian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association (VMMNA) M-League, St Therese came away with an eight-goal win over Netblacks in last night’s top three battle. Both sides headed into the contest undefeated, and it was fitting that for the most part the game ebbed and flowed. In the end, the combination of St Therese goalers Tom Hardwick and Connor Lilly was able to off-set the dominance of Netblacks shooter Junior Levi and help see their side home, 63-55.

There were danger signs early for St Therese who had the bye last week, as a switched on Netblacks midcourt of Cameron Powell and Deepak Patu were combining well to get it to a red-hot Levi in the circle. The Netblacks shooter poured on 16 goals in the first quarter, with only a late one from Lilly cutting the St Therese deficit to two at the first break. Riley Richardson was already looking in good form out of the centre bib, grabbing a crucial interception in the first term just as the Netblacks had got out to a four-goal lead.

Matt Longhurst was working back to try and intercept the ball into Levi, with Jake Hederics having his work cut out for him in an undersized matchup. Both played as well as they could, but with Powell and Patu – the latter of whom was switched into centre from the second quarter – the delivery into Levi was top-notch. By the end of the first half, Levi had 26 goals on the board, but the momentum had swung back into St Therese’s favour.

At 19 goals apiece, Netblacks suffered back-to-back turnovers on their centre pass, and St Therese took full advantage, with Hardwick and Lilly combining for five consecutive goals. The quarter had already seen a seven-goal swing, but then a couple of mistakes from Hardwick off feeds saw the Netblacks get back into the contest, with Powell and Patu feeding it to Levi and the deficit was back to two goals.

Longhurst grabbed a massive aerial interception out of goal defence, and his work down the court in transition regained a four-goal lead for St Therese. It ebbed and flowed more as the game went on, with a last second goal from Hardwick – who rebounded off a Lilly miss – handed St Therese a 30-27 lead at the main break. Aside from those couple of mistakes, Hardwick had piled on 17 goals in a good half, with Lilly not far behind with 13.

The first half of the third term saw Levi lift again, not only dunking the ball 20 seconds into the half, but then he scored three consecutive goals after an offensive contact call up the other end. By that stage, the Netblacks had drawn level, but little did they know, that would be the last time they did so, with both sides handing the ball back through turnovers and the pressure mounting. The turning point came when Richardson produced a huge deflection at 37-34, to make it a five-goal lead.

From there, St Therese did not let it get below two goals despite Levi’s best efforts. At one stage it looked like the Netblacks might draw level with four minutes remaining, but another turnover straight to Richardson put the lead straight out to six goals, with St Therese scoring in the last moments of the quarter to hold a 46-40 advantage.

The Netblacks never threw in the towel, but St Therese’s shooting combination of Hardwick and Lilly were just too consistent in the latter stages of the game, and with Hederics making a few changes on Levi, he was able to win a couple of deflections. Richardson had done so much he literally bled for the team, having to be substituted in the last 92 seconds of the game, giving Chris Cameron an unexpected cameo at the end. The St Therese lead got as large as nine goals, before the Netblacks secured the last goal of the game.

Levi finished with 50 of his side’s 55 goals, whilst Lilly scored 33 goals – 20 in the second half – and Hardwick managed the 30. Patu and Powell were both terrific for Netblacks, but the work of Richardson, Longhurst and Hederics as a combination was more than enough to get St Therese home in an impressive eight-goal victory that did not sum up just how close the contest was for the most part.

Funnily enough, that result ended up being the largest of the round, with just seven goals combined separating the other four sides. Seahawks remained undefeated with a hard-fought win over City Heat. The Heat have been unlucky to cop all the top sides in the opening few rounds, taking it right up to the Seahawks and falling short, 45-49. The midcourt pairing of James Robertson and Taurin Eimermacher was on-song, setting up Danny Loats (34 goals) in goal shooter. Jed Christian scored 16 goals for City Heat and was crucial in feeding it to James Matthews who helped City Head lead by two goals at half-time.

In the other game, Sirens grabbed their first win with a 55-52 triumph over Ariels, leaving the Ariels still as the only side without any points from a result this season. A 16-8 first quarter broke the game open, but the Ariels roared to life in the second term with 21 goals to 10, including 14 to Cameron Allum. Maintaining that lead at the final break, it looked as though Ariels would break through for their first win, but a 16 goals to 10 final term in favour of the Sirens saw them snatch the victory. Andrew Lewis piled on 31 goals in the victory, with Brodie Roberts scoring 12 goals in the first half before shifting into wing attack also impressing. Aside from Allum (34 goals), Wade Aitken was influential in centre.

MEN’S PREMIER DIVISION ROUND 4 RESULTS:

St Therese (63) defeated Netblacks (55)
Sirens (55) defeated Ariels (52)
Seahawks (49) defeated City Heat (45)