ALL three M-League Premier Men’s matches were decided by five goals or less in a Round 9 nail-biting night of action. With an average winning margin of just four goals, there was plenty of intense netball contests across the three courts.

In the top three clash between reigning premiers St Therese and the big improvers of 2022/23 Altona Falcons, the match went down to the wire with just three goals separating the sides. Altona showed it was up for the fight early, scoring 16 goals to 13 in a huge start to the match. Liam Killey filled in for the Falcons and stretched the St Therese defence, putting up 13 goals himself in the opening term, while Connor Lilly fire off 11 up the other end.

Ronan Pring moved out to goal defence in the second term to allow Jake Hederics to take Killey, with that move being a success. Pring shut down star goal attack Brodie Roberts, with the Australian talent only having the three goals to half-time, and none in the second term. St Therese closed the gap to two at het main break, before Riley Richardson came off in the second half for a break, and Harrison Lefebure came on.

James Sutton also entered the court at wing defence to replace Tristan Comans, while Tim Walker replaced Lilly in the goal shooters bib midway through the third quarter, and Lilly moved into goal attack. Tom Hardwick earned a rest after 11 goals across the first two and a half quarters, while wing attack Jayden Cowling ended up being the only St Therese player to remain in the same position all match.

The changes again edged St Therese another goal closer to Altona, but trailed by a goal at the last change. Cameron Hughes returned to wing attack as he had in the second term for Altona Falcons, while Andrew Lewis came on into goal keeper. Unfortunately for Altona, Walker stepped up when it counted, firing off 13 goals for St Therese to hit the front and outscore the Falcons 16-12, resulting in a 53-50 win.

Sam Dugan had played incredibly well in goal defence across the four quarters for the Falcons, but the defensive work of Pring and Hederics to keep Killey to 38 goals – and just 14 in the second half – set up St Therese’s win. Lilly scored 28 in the victory, while Roberts finished with 12 for Altona across the four quarters. The win moved the reigning premiers to outright second on the table, with the undefeated City Heat having the bye in Round 9.

Meanwhile Netblacks survived an almighty scare from Ariels to post a four-goal win in their contest. Trailing midway through the match in a topsy-turvy clash, the Netblacks got back on top in the second half, as Junior Levi went on a tear. Scoring between 16 and 17 goals each quarter, he was unstoppable, as Kai Suzuki-McGauran stepped up in centre with Deepak Patu coaching on the sidelines. However, Billy Mahoney was best on court in goal attack for the Ariels, scoring 16 goals, while Dan King tried hard on Levi.

Boroondara Thunder made it three consecutive wins in Round 9 of the Premier Men’s competition, defeating the winless Darebin Dragons by five goals. The Thunder set the win up early in the game and eventually came away with the 47-42 victory. Brayden Pastore (20 goals) lead the way, as Lachlan Askew (15) and Ethan Spiteri (12) all shared in the scoring. James Robertson was a key player in midcourt for the Thunder. Dana Button‘s work in goal keeper across the first half stood out for the Dragons, while Alexander Nichols put up 24 goals in the defeat.

M-LEAGUE PREMIER MEN’S ROUND 9 RESULTS:

Boroondara Thunder (47) defeated Darebin Dragons (42)
St Therese (53) defeated Altona Falcons (50)
Netblacks (70) defeated Ariels (66)