THERE is a month and a half left of the VNL home and away season, with still so much exciting netball left for fans to enjoy.

This week sees a match between two teams in very different positions on the ladder but went down to the wire last time.

When Melbourne Uni played the Hawks back in round two, the margin was a mere two goals, with the Lightning emerging victorious.

Kaylia Stanton and Mikaela Vaughan both shot a high volume of goals that night and have been doing so on a regular basis all season, so expect them to do so again tonight.

Both sides have a shooting circle that works really well together, with Tayla Shannon and Claudia Mawson not only proving to be good shooting partners for their respective team mates, but also putting in their fair effort of score board pressure.

So with all this in mind, the question will be whose midcourt can give their shooters the most opportunities with the highest number of feeds.

With the AFLW preseason commencing next week, tonight may be the last time this season the Hawks get Jasmine Ferguson at their disposal, so they will be keen to get the most out of her while they still can.

Meanwhile for the Lightning, their midcourt drive all starts with the likes of Jordan Cransberg, and with fellow Vixens’ training partners Maggie Caris and Gabrielle Coffey both having great games last week, expect to see a good game from those players tonight.

Speaking of last week, the Lightning come into this match on a good run of form. They have won their last two matches after they drew with Casey back in round nine, with their last lost coming against the Blaze almost a month ago.

Meanwhile the Hawks’ recent form has been a little bit patchier. They have lost their last three matches to the Waves, Falcons and Cougars respectively, so they will certainly be hoping to end that run of losses tonight.

Meanwhile in other matches across the league, Geelong Cougars will be keen to back up last week’s big win when they face the Peninsula Waves, while the Boroondara Express will want to make amends for last weekend’s loss when they take on the Southern Saints. The Casey Demons face the City West Falcons with both sides coming off wins, while either the Ariels or North East Blaze will bounce back from last week’s loss when they face each other.

VNL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 12 FIXTURE

Hawks Netball vs Melbourne University Lightning
Geelong Cougars vs Peninsula Waves
Wilson Storage Southern Saints vs Boroondara Express
Casey Demons vs City West Falcons
Ariels vs North East Blaze