CITY Heat lived up to their name and brought the heat to get on the board in the VIC M-League Men’s Premier Division following a 10-goal win over DDNA in Round 3 action last night. Coming into the game, the Heat had lost back-to-back matches, whilst DDNA were coming off a draw in Round 2 following a Round 1 defeat.

The first quarter saw some quick end-to-end plays but the pressure from the defensive goal circles resulted in the respective shooters missing chances. James Matthews was the key man under the post, delivering eight first quarter goals, whilst Brayden Pastore scored all six goals for DDNA in the first term.

It was much the same in the second quarter, with a tight contest, and City Heat’s Joel Gosbell coming on at centre, opposing Adam Franz who replaced Cameron Hughes in the term. DDNA’s Ethan Spiteri got on the board in the second quarter to take over most of the load from Pastore, with the Heat still holding a four-goal lead at the the main break.

The defensive combination of Jake Noonan, Ronan Pring and Simon Cartwright caused headaches for the DDNA attacking end, forcing the Doncaster side to balance the scoring. Hughes returned to the centre position and Franz went to wing attack, with the midcourts both working hard, but the defensive work of City Heat earning them a nice buffer at the final break.

Leading by six goals after another successful quarter (11-9), Matthews went to town in the final quarter, piling on 11 goals himself for the Heat to guide them to a 42-32 win. This was despite the best effort of Luke Marko Rawlings who was thrown from goalkeeper into goalshooter in the final term and scored seven goals. In the end, Pastore was impressive despite the loss, whilst the likes of Pring and Noonan were outstanding in the defensive half, and Matthews ever-reliable in the shooting circle.

Meanwhile on the adjacent court, the Netblacks remained undefeated in season 2021 with a comfortable 13-goal win over Ariels. Junior Levi was outstandingly consistent under the post with 38 of his side’s 42 goals, including 13 in the first term. Centre Remy Pirihi and Deepak Patu – who came onto the court in wing defence in the second half – were also among the best, while Dan King worked overtime to reduce Levi’s impact after quarter time.

The most one-side contest went the way of the Seahawks who dominated Sirens by 18 goals. Daniel Loats was outstanding at goal shooter after a quiet start. He put up 40 goals in the last three quarters – and 44 overall – as he lead the Seahawks to a 48-30 win. Jayden Cowling was superb in goal attack setting up Loats, whilst Sam MacKerras was ever-present in the defensive goal circle. Brodie Roberts scored 19 goals in his side’s loss.

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ROUND 3 RESULTS:

City Heat (42) defeated DDNA (32)
Netblacks (42) defeated Ariels (29)
Seahawks (48) defeated Sirens (30)