ROUND 12 was one of the closer weeks in Men’s Premier Division, with three matches coming down to less than 10 goals while one match was the unexpected blowout of the week. Melbourne City Blackhawks had results go their way on their road to finals, sitting in fifth but safe for another week despite their loss to Sirens Netball (69-61), with fourth-ranked Pasifika Sharks losing valuable percentage in their 62-81 loss to St Therese and potentially giving the Blackhawks the look-in they need to achieve finals. Meanwhile, Southern Seahawks achieved a massive win over Geelong Cougars, running away with a two goal victory (41-39) after a massive first half set up the upset. This was Geelong’s second loss of the season, now only leading in top spot by percentage with two tough matches to finish the season.

The final match of the round saw Ariels get their debut win in 2019, prevailing by seven goals over DDNA (49-42) with an impressive defensive effort rendering DDNA’s goalers unable to find the post. A dominant first quarter gave Ariels the confidence to take control of the match, and with DDNA losing key goaler Christian White to injury and playing sans wing defence in the second half, the Ariels were able to take hold of opportunities and open up a solid margin. In the absence of White, Jason Heard and David Butler put in the hard yards but despite their efforts were unable to find easy access into the goal circle, hesitating to feed and shoot and ultimately allow Ariels defenders, Nick Brendan and Daniel Stone to find plenty of turnover ball. Ariels may not have much – or any – winning experience this season, yet it seemed like they had no worries running the ball down the court, creating opportunities and using every turnover to apply scoreboard pressure to DDNA. While DDNA commanded plenty of ball back themselves thanks to the defensive effort of Jake Novak and David Priddle, they did not find much purchase against a side so hungry for a win, playing catchup for majority of the match and struggling to match the physicality of the Ariels with the likes of Michael Dower giving as much as he got. It was a relentless contest with neither side willing to give an inch, creating a far closer contest than many expected and granting the Ariels a much needed and deserved inaugural Premier Division victory.