Victorian Netball League 2025 live stream: Western Warriors v Hawks, Round 4

She was the off-season recruit that dominated interstate and Ash Mawer was at her brilliant best in the Hawks big win over Western Warriors on Wednesday night. Watch the REPLAY here.

A dominating performance from star off-season recruit Ash Mawer guided the Hawks back to the VNL winners list and heaped further pain on the winless Western Warriors on Wednesday night.

Looking to secure a second straight win, the Hawks were challenged early but broke away after halftime to secure the 73-48 win.

WATCH THE CHAMPIONSHIP REPLAY ABOVE AND THE 23 & U BELOW

Mawer, who crossed from Tasmanian powerhouse Northern Hawks over the off-season, put up her second-best VNL effort with 54 goals and an impressive 94.74 shooting percentage.

The two sides were locked on 15 apiece after the first term before the Hawks took an eight-goal lead into the half.

A 15-goal quarter from Mawer extended that to 14 at the final break with the Hawks continuing to put the foot down in the final term.

The win took their season to 3-1 while the Western Warriors are 0-4 and still searching for a win.

In the 23 & U clash, it was the Hawks that won a tight 52-48 battle against the Western Warriors.

REPLAY

Western Warriors v Hawks Netball (23 & U) – 2025 Victorian Netball League Round 4

PREVIEW

Victorian Netball League newcomer Ashlea Mawer didn’t know why she hadn’t thought about a move before.

On the cusp of a 13th season in the Tasmanian Netball League – where she’s been described as the GOAT with six MVP gongs to her name and five flags with Northern Hawks – Mawer reveals it was an Instagram message which first planted the seed about crossing the ditch.

The goaler is now three games and 126 goals into her first season with Hawks Netball’s championship side.

Their VNL double-header against Western Warriors on Wednesday night will be live and exclusive on KommunityTV from 7pm.

Following the Hawks – who like her Northern Hawks are affiliated with Hawthorn Football Club – on social media, Mawer said she had watched on from afar the club’s 23-and-under’s premiership triumph last year.

Then came the message from Hawks head coach AJ Ballantyne, who had the task of filling the void of former Melbourne Vixens shooter Kaylia Stanton, currently on maternity leave.

“It was, ‘do you want to come and give this a crack for a year?’,” Mawer recalled.

At 29, and closer to the end of her career than the start, Mawer decided not to waste any time.

Ashlea Mawer in action for Hawks during Round 1 of the 2025 Victorian Netball League season. Picture: Grant Treeby/Netball Victoria

“When the opportunity came about, I was like ‘why haven’t I thought of this’ and was just really excited to take the opportunity,” she said.

“I’ve got nothing tying me home, so let’s give it a crack.”

Making the move to Melbourne in mid-January, it wasn’t just a new netball league Mawer had to adapt to but a whole new life as a primary school teacher in Blackburn.

“Obviously it’s a massive change, it’s not just living, it’s work, it’s meeting a whole new netball team, it’s like I’m in kindergarten again. Just meeting everyone, having to make new connections again,” she said.

Used to the quieter, slower paced lifestyle of Launceston, Mawer was initially sceptical of whether she would like Melbourne though those thoughts were unfounded.

Her new Hawks teammates have made the transition easier too, with Mawer quickly starting to establish strong connections with fellow shooters Jess Tetley and Hannah Keane, the latter on her return from a pre-season injury.

“It was quite interesting how quickly it came together and how easily we were working together,” Mawer said.

“You don’t expect to form connections straight away, and it has been great working with those two girls.”

Mawer won six TNL MVP titles in her time with the Northern Hawks. Picture: Jess Stevenson.

Reflecting on her time in the TNL, and her unrivalled resume, Mawer felt her success had more to do with the club’s premierships than any individual accolades, as nice as they were.

“I think the environment I was in, and the team I played with played a huge role in that,” she said.

“The last three years, we’ve won three premierships in a row; highlights like that and the other two premierships we also won were massive highlights for me.”

Now, Mawer is challenged by players she’s never met or faced before, each week’s game both a test and learning opportunity.

“You hear of a lot of these people because they’ve got training partnerships (with SSN clubs), and things like that, getting the opportunity to come up against girls like that who are exposed to that training frequently is invaluable experience,” she said.

Quickly announcing herself to the league with dynamic round one performance – shooting 55 off 56 in a 15-goal win over Casey – Mawer had a tougher time getting opportunities against last year’s grand finalists Boroondara Express, sinking 29 from 31 in a 12-goal loss.

She quickly rebounded against Melbourne University Lightning in round three, going 42 from 45 in a 10-goal win.

“I like to go out with the mindset, focus on myself and not let the players around me impact what I’m doing,” she said.

“But you do have to factor in, they’re quite strong bodies and quite strong at the ball, so it was a very intense match-up (against Boroondara).”

Next on the list is Western Warriors – before games against Southern Saints and Geelong Cougar – though Mawer insisted the Hawks were only looking as far as their next match, with a number of teammates also settling into championship after making the jump from 23-and-under.

It’s a surreal sort of feeling for Mawer lining up alongside those former 23 & Us, considering it was just last year she was following their flag run from back home in Launceston.

“It’s pretty cool I get to play with a few of those girls (now),” she said.