THE opening round of Victorian Men’s and Mixed M-League showcased plenty of huge action, with the Mixed Premier League division producing two huge margins to go with a close encounter, while Valley Wolves will wait another week to start their 2021/22 campaign.

The Melbourne Quakes and Ariels played out a thriller, as the Quakes came from behind in the dying moments to clinch a one-goal win (55-54). It was a close contest throughout the whole 60 minutes, with a highly accurate start from both teams proving fruitful as neither defensive unit backed down. The Ariels led by just one goal as the first quarter came to a close off the back of an 11 goal haul from goal shooter Kurt Thompson, however it was the Quakes that got the game on their terms in the second to lead by three goals at half time, with the shadowing defence of Simon Cartwright shutting down easy feeds into the goal circle.

Once again it was the Ariels that took charge though, with the half time reset allowing Dan Stone to apply heavy pressure on Quakes tall timber David Chisholm. Thompson continued to wreak havoc in the Ariels circle credit to the ball placement and work rate of Annabelle Gorman and Ally Black, as the scoreline got out to four goals in the Ariels’ favour. But the game is not over until the final whistle blows, and that was the case in a nail-biting final term of action. Rallying from four goals down early in the term, it was a goal for goal finish from the two sides with Chisholm working his way into the game with a whopping 17-goal haul in the final 15 minutes, using his height and strong hold to advantage to keep Stone at an arm’s length. With scores level, it was a back and forth final minute before Chisholm put the final sealer on the board to finish with a win.

For the Quakes, it was Chisholm who led the goal tally with 28 goals from 37 attempts, while Rebecca Winch played a consistent role with 19 goals to her name across all four quarters. For the Ariels, Thompson was highly accurate with 39 goals from 41 attempts and the main scorer for the side, with Gorman putting up 15 of her own.

In the other two match, both the Parkville Panthers and Geelong Cougars came away with hefty margins to start their seasons on a high, with the Panthers downing NNE Vipers by 40 goals, as the Cougars defeated Eastside Sonics by 18 goals. Former Collingwood Magpies midcourter Mel Bragg took the court for Geelong while Brodie Roberts wreaked havoc in goals for Parkville.

R1 RESULTS:

Melbourne Quakes (55) def. Ariels (54)
NNE Vipers (24) def. by Parkville Panthers (64)
Eastside Sonics (35) def. by Geelong Cougars (53)

Valley Wolves – BYE

R1 Men’s results

READ>> VIC M-League Premier Men’s and Mixed 2021/22: Team lists