City West Falcons (53) defeated Peninsula Waves (41)
Victorian Netball League 19 and Under
By: Sophie Taylor

It was a close match to begin with in the VNL Under 19s Grand Final, with a goal for goal start seeing both City West Falcons and Peninsula Waves unable to find their form. It was the Falcons who were first to settle, locking onto a lead midway through the first and maintaining it despite Waves’ every effort to close the margin, finishing with a 53 goal to 41 victory. The match was physical from the first whistle and continued much the same way, with both defensive units working overtime to cause errors and generate plenty of turnovers. While the Falcons maintained a mostly similar lineup all match, only switching up to empty the bench with less than five minutes on the clock, their full court defensive pressure forced the Waves to make a plethora of changes in hope to find a winning combination. For City West, Caitlin Hill (24 goals from 27 attempts), Daisy O’Kane (16 from 21) and Chloe Langley (13 from 16) shared the load in attack, rotating through cleanly to run laps around their defensive counterparts. Player of the match, Melissa Oloamanu starred in defence from the get-go, working in tandem with Tiarah Minns to force Waves attackers, Georgia Hernan (20 goals from 23 attempts) and Jasmin Mackie (20 from 22) to shoot long, sharing the load as the pressure heightened with every step closer to the post. With both teams not afraid to go into the contest the likes of Sussu Liai and Abuk Kenyang found plenty of the high ball through the midcourt, however the physicality eventually got to the Waves, seeing defender Ashlee Barnett handed both a caution and warning in quick succession as the clock ticked on. Only four goals up with 15 minutes left and a comeback mounting from the Waves, City West shot 17 goals to nine in the final quarter to pull through for a convincing 12 goal victory after a mostly tight affair.

North-East Blaze (50) defeated Boroondara Express (46)
Victorian Netball League Division 1
By: Taylah Melki

THE North-East Blaze ended their drought after appearing in the past few finals series to claim a six goal victory over Boroondara Express in the Division 1 grand final. Both sides came out with a real fire in the belly and set the tone early, competing hard for each ball and relying on their structures to get through the tricky phases. Despite Express putting up a good fight in the opening term they simply could not sustain the same pressure and intensity for the four quarters in what was a highly physical game with bodies flying across the court. No player left any stone unturned with the likes of Samantha Coppinger and Bronwyn Taylor leading the way through the midcourt for the Blaze with their quick ball movement. Fan favourite Meg Williams staked her claim on the centre position, awarded MVP for her efforts through the match credit to her timely drives to the top of the circle and quick play around the court. Things got a bit scrappy late in the second term with both sides unable to find a good rhythm in attack, forcing the ball to stream back and forth across the court. But in the end Blaze prevailed, heading into half time with a five goal lead credit to their ability to withstand the pressure and make the most of their opportunities under the post. They continued their hot form establishing an eight goal buffer early in the third term before Express clawed their way back into the game to get within three goals in the dying stages of the quarter credit to Abbey Ryan and Ruby Barkmeyer backing themselves in the goal circle. Barkmeyer top scored for Express with 30 goals from 39 attempts at 79 per cent while Ryan slotted 11 from 18. Tegan Stephenson challenged hard throughout the match for Express showcasing her desperation and skill while Janelle Birch also worked hard in defence to try and nullify the influence of Abigail Gedge under the post for Blaze. Gedge had no problem under the ring slotting 31 goals from 37 attempts and was ably assisted by Brianna Gregory who nailed 18 goals.