A 10-MINUTE purple patch late in the first quarter and early in the second has seen Parkville Panthers secure an important victory against Valley Wolves in their Mixed Premier League Round 3 clash on Wednesday night. The Panthers returned from a week off after handing out a shellacking in Round 1, whilst the Wolves played their first game last week, going down to Geelong Cougars by 12 goals.

In an unlucky fixture for the Wolves to ease into the season – they played arguably the two top sides in the competition – the team showed plenty of fight early and were not afraid to match the Panthers over the first 10 minutes. Riley Richardson was leading from the front, zipping up and down the court to create forward thrusts for his side. It was the connection in the midcourt that ultimately turned the game in the Panthers’ favour.

After some back-and-forths between the sides – and a number of missed chances – the midcourt trio of Casey Adamson, Richardson and Elli Leydin were working well to give the goalers plenty of looks. Connor Lilly started to take control, nailing eight first quarter goals to give his side a six-goal lead at the first break. For the Wolves, Monique Nagel (long, lofted high shots) and Danny Loats (close to the post shots) provided some great points of difference, but it was not long before the defensive pairing of Georgette Paatsch and Jake Hederics were able to find their rhythm.

Five minutes into the second term, and the lead was out to nine goals and looking like the Panthers were going to run away with it. To the Wolves’ credit, they stuck with them, making moving and switching up the attack. They threw Natalie Billings into goal attack to provide a two-tall goal threat in the circle, with Brodie Roberts coming on at goal attack for the Panthers and Leydin moved into centre as Richardson had a break. The Panthers still were in control for the most part, and headed into half-time with a 10-goal lead, 25-15.

The third term was far slower for both sides, with just seven goals scored in the first 12 and a half minutes – just two for the Wolves – and only 10 for the entire quarter. It would not have fazed the Panthers though, as they extended the lead out to 12 goals. Hederics and Paatsch remained the dominant defensive duo on court, and whilst Loats was able to score 15 goals for the match, the pressure applied was impressive.

Valley Wolves’ goal duo of Loats and Billings clicked more in the final term, breaking even with the Panthers at eight goals apiece. Though at one stage the Panthers got out to a 14-goal advantage in the final minute, the Wolves forced a turnover and scored twice to end with a final score of 39-27. The Panthers would finish victorious, but the Wolves showed they will be no easy beats in season 2021/22.

Adjacent that contest, fellow contender Geelong Cougars came away with a 17-goal win over Ariels. Ex-Collingwood Super Netball midcourter Mel Bragg produced another outstanding best-on-court performance out of centre for three quarters, whilst Cameron Allum dominated with 28 goals in a half before rotating with Brayden Pastore. For the Ariels, Kurt Thompson put up 15 goals in the first half, before being nullified in the second to score six, competing against a taller defender.

In the late game between the two winless sides, NNE Vipers got up with a 12-goal victory over Eastside Sonics. Bridget Ryan was outstanding in goal shooter in the first half, putting up 13 goals when the game was on the line, whilst Ben Bruitzman through the midcourt also impressed. Stacey Gannon was a standout for the Sonics in defeat through goal attack and then goal shooter. finishing with 14 goals.

ROUND 3 RESULTS:

Parkville Panthers (39) defeated Valley Wolves (27)
Geelong Cougars (52) defeated Ariels (35)
NNE Vipers (45) defeated Eastside Sonics (33)