THERE were plenty of surprises among the VNL results last night, which makes things very interesting in the context of the season.

The City West Falcons have maintained their stranglehold on top of the ladder after a solid win over the Bendigo Strikers.

However the margin was not always that big, with the teams locked at 15 goals apiece at the first break, and the Falcons only lead by one goal at the main break. That did eventually change in the third term when the Falcons shot away and their lead just grew from there.

North East Blaze have picked up their second win in a row after a narrow win over the Western Warriors.

The Blaze got out to a strong start, but the Warriors steadied in the second term to slightly reduce the margin. The Blaze then put their foot down in the third term and really blew the margin out, but almost blew it as the Warriors shot the last four goals of the match to almost pinch it from the Blaze.

One side who picked up a bigger win was the Saints, who downed the Waves by 20 goals.

The margin may have only been three goals at the first change, but a margin that small did not last long. The Saints grew into the match as it progressed and the margin grew as a result.

The Boroondara Express have dropped their third match in a row, this time losing to Casey by eight goals.

It was dead even between the sides at the first change, but in the second term Casey started to wrestle control and earned itself a bit of a lead. The Dees were then able to maintain that buffer for the rest of the game to take the win.

Geelong is now just percentage outside the top four after a crucial win over Melbourne Uni.

The Cougars led at every change, slowly growing their lead at each successive quarter time break.

VNL Round 16 Results

City West Falcons (71) defeated Bendigo Strikers (52)

Western Warriors (58) lost to North East Blaze (60)

Southern Saints (64) defeated Peninsula Waves (44)

Casey (67) defeated Booroondara Express (59)

Melbourne Uni (41) lost to Geelong (53)

BYE – Hawks