WITH Round 17 done and dusted the race for finals is well and truly on. This round had a profound impact on finals with the Southern Saints knocked out of contention, meaning the top four has been finalised with City West Falcons, Geelong Cougars, North East Blaze and Casey Demons all securing a spot in the top four.

Southern Saints (52) defeated by Melbourne University Lightning (61)

Melbourne University Lightning notched up their sixth win of the season with a nine-goal victory over the Southern Saints. Lightning skipped out to an early lead, piling on 18 goals to seven in the opening term and continued that strong form for the remaining three quarters to keep their foot on the throat of the Saints. Melbourne Uni were patient with ball in hand to work the ball down the court while the Saints worked tirelessly in defence to try and limit their opposition access into the circle. Stephanie McNay and Kirsty Clark stood tall in defeat given the amount of pressure down in defence while Lightning defenders Gabrielle Coffey and Madeline Stewart impressed. Both sides shot at even percentage with the Saints edging ahead at 83 per cent compared to 81 per cent. Mikaela Vaughan and Jordan Cransberg combined nicely in attack finding good space and working the angles well to avoid intercepts and deflections from their opposition. Hayley McDougall was solid under the post putting up her fair share of shots for Lightning while Shae Brown showed her versatility to switch between centre and goal attack throughout the match. The connection between Samantha Silvester, Chloe Wilson, Ella Quinlan and Sinead Lumsden was on show once again for the Saints with all four posing a dominant threat around the circle given their ability to sight one another on the lead and let the ball go with confidence.

Boroondara Express (57) defeated Hawks Netball (48)

The Hawks’ up and down season continued, going down to Boroondara Express by nine goals. Up by one goal at half-time, Express rallied in the second half to put on a dominant performance adding 36 goals to their tally compared to 28. Boroondara showed great intensity and desperation in the second half winning the ball in the air and chasing the loose ball to capitalise on their opportunities. Accuracy proved to be no issue for either side with Express sitting at 91 per cent credit to Clare Vearing, Isabelle Hodgson and Anastasia Hamill making the most of their chances under the post while Hawks converted 48 of their 56 attempts at 86 per cent, with key target Kim Commane missing from the court. The combination between Shae Gee and Taylah Shannon was on song early with both finding good space in the circle but it was not enough to get them over the line with Tayla Kearns and Enya Broadley struggling to bring the ball down the court at times. Defensively Express were strong thanks to Caitlyn Degaris and Isabella Brown picking off passes and applying strong pressure to create turnovers in the circle. Up the other end, Hawks defender Kelsey Buxton worked relentlessly to contest every ball and confuse space in the goal circle but Express worked their way through and capitalised.

Ariels (58) defeated by City West Falcons (75)

After a shock loss last week, the City West Falcons worked their way back onto the winners list to claim their sixteenth victory of the season. The Falcons got out to an early lead and did not look back, increasing their lead at each break to run out 17-goal victors. Although the Ariels did not come away with the win they made the most of their opportunities in the goal circle, sitting at 91 per cent accuracy and sinking 58 of their 64 attempts compared to the Falcons’ 84 per cent. Samantha Gooden, Stacey Gannon and Beth Wilson all had an impact on the scoreboard for the Ariels, showcasing their ability to turn and shoot from anywhere in the circle. Through the midcourt Kourtnee Baird and Montana Holmes ran hard to create space and transition down the court. For the Falcons, Jane Cook did a wealth of work under the post to hold her space and shoot. Cook relished the work of midcourt players Molly Jovic and Maggie Lind who delivered the ball with precision and hit the circle hard. With the attack end firing on all cylinders the defensive duo of Zoe Davies and Sarah Szczykulski was unstoppable, continuously sticking to their respective player, contesting every ball and confusing the space to cause turnovers and propel the ball back up the court.

North East Blaze (51) defeated by Geelong Cougars (59)

In the battle of two versus three it was the Geelong Cougars that ran away with the win credit to their desperation and strong structures to stand up under pressure and work their way through the pressure. It was a see-sawing affair with momentum swinging between Blaze and the Cougars, with Geelong claiming the early ascendancy to be up by two goals at quarter time. They maintained that temperament and composure to extend their lead at half time to a four goal buffer, with the biggest lead at three quarter time pushing out to 10 goals. Blaze worked hard to keep themselves in it, reducing the margin to eight at full-time, but it was the Cougars’ defence that consistently stood up with Brooke Allan, Jessica Standfield and Victoria Honner getting hands to ball time and time again. The circle rotation in the attack end was second to none for the Cougars with Ruby Horton, Julia Woolley and Bridgette Furphy all combining effortlessly and scoring with ease at 86 per cent. Their shooting prowess was not to be outdone, with North East capitalising under the post at 88 per cent credit to Elizabeth Nicol and Bronwyn Taylor using their drives and quick footwork to edge closer the post. The midcourt battle created plenty of interest for both sides with Ella Bayliss and Elle McDonald playing their role, driving hard and feeding well into the circle while Vanessa Augustini and Melissa Bragg stood up for the Cougars when needed to win ball and create clever plays across the court.

Peninsula Waves (40) defeated by Casey Demons (61)

The Demons made easy work of the Waves who struggled to combat the offensive pressure applied by Casey. The win all but secured Casey’s spot in the finals, going two games clear of their closest opponent. Casey came out with great intent and hunger to win the ball right across the court, attacking any loose passes and clogging up space in the attacking end for Peninsula. At half time the Demons all but doubled their opponents’ score, heading into the main break up by 16 goals with the lead growing at each change. Once again the combination of Emma Ryde and Erin Bell caused headaches with the Waves unable to limit their influence to post, finding the net with relative ease. The ball placement from Kassidy Withers and Christie Hillberg was impressive, delivering well weighted and pinpoint passes into the circle to make it hard for Waves defenders Mardi Cunningham and Tara Cecil to disrupt their attacking flow. Gabrielle Dwyer, Sacha McDonald and Stacie Gardiner all worked tirelessly in the goal circle to create space for one another and score but they did not receive enough of the ball to put up a competitive total.