ROUND 2 of Victorian Men’s and Mixed M-League saw another few blowouts as teams get adjusted back into netball action. The Mixed Premier League division showcased some great netball chops across the round, with no margins under 15 goals but still some solid efforts across the board.

Geelong Cougars sit two from two as Round 2 comes to a close, with another comprehensive win on the board; this week against the Valley Wolves. To the Wolves’ credit, they were coming into the match off the back of a Round 1 bye so this was their first team taste of the Mixed Premier League for the season, with the team keeping up well, considering. It was mostly Geelong’s hot start that kept the Wolves at an arm’s length, with a 17-8 opening quarter scoreline maintained throughout the clash, with the Cougars eventually claiming a 12-goal victory.

A variety of goalers moved through the circle for the Cougars, with former Collingwood Magpies midcourter Mel Bragg combining nicely with Cameron Allum in the opening quarter, before Alexia McDonald and Brayden Pastore maintained the heat throughout the midsection of the match. But while the Cougars certainly had a stranglehold on the lead, the Wolves played hard through the middle quarters to outscore Geelong 29-28 and set themselves up for a strong finish. James Story and Monique Nagle kept the pressure up inside the goal circle, sharing the load nicely as Zali Anderson and Karina Martin worked hard and kept consistent through the midcourt up against a combination of Kali Dolphin and Jake Noonan.

On the stats sheet, it was Allum who led the goal scoring with 29 goals across his two quarters, while Pastore (18), McDonald (10) and Bragg (four) all added to the scoresheet. For the Wolves, Story led the side with 21 gols to his name as Nagle followed suit with 14. Daniel Loats and Nat Billings also played handy roles in the goal circle during the third term, with goal keeper turned goal shooter, Loats, putting up a quarter-high 12 goals alone.

In other games, the Melbourne Quakes also made it two from two after a nailbiter last week, once again coming from behind after a shaky first term to defeat the NNE Vipers, 60-49. Vipers goal attack Michael Dower was the focal point once again with 22 goals to his name, working nicely with Bridget Ryan throughout. Quakes’ Jed Christian and Billy Mahoney were also highly influential, while David Chisholm piled on 43 goals, including 17 in the third quarter alone. Ariels bounced back well from their loss to the Quakes last week, claiming the biggest win of the round by a whopping 37 goals over Eastside Sonics. Goal shooter Kurt Thompson starred with 40 goals to his name while Dan Stone impressed in the back-end and Kirsty Clark showcased her versatility.

R2 RESULTS:

Melbourne Quakes (60) def. NNE Vipers (49)
Geelong Cougars (62) def. Valley Wolves (50)
Ariels (71) def. Eastside Sonics (34)

Parkville Panthers – BYE

Round 1 Mixed results

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