VNL livestream: Geelong Cougars face Melbourne University Lightning in Championship preliminary final (Victorian Netball League)

Victorian Netball League powerhouse Geelong Cougars has seen off Melbourne University in a do-or-die preliminary final to progress to the big dance.

Championship heavyweights Geelong haven’t lost hope as they chase down back-to-back premierships in the VNL - but they’ll have to do it the hard way.

The Cougars will play for their season on Wednesday night as they take on Melbourne University Lightning for a spot in the grand final.

Despite suffering only one loss in the home-and-away season, the Cougars were toppled by the City West Falcons last Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Lightning edged out North East Blaze 54-50 in the minor semi-final - and they are the only team to have beaten the Cougars in the regular season.

WATCH DIV 1 REPLAY: North East Blaze v Geelong Cougars

Jordan Cransberg from the Lightning and Vanessa Augustini from Geelong. Pic: Alex Coppel.

Cougars head coach Gerard Murphy said if his side has any chance of repeating their 2019 heroics (COVID ruined the 2020 and 2021 deciders), they’ll need to first defeat the crowd.

“We let the crowd come into the game (last week) and a few changes disrupted our momentum,” Murphy said.

“We haven’t experienced that level of noise, and during the season we’d had a couple of close games against the Saints and one loss to Lighting, so we hadn’t felt much pressure throughout the season.

“Everything we did up until that third quarter and halfway into the fourth quarter was good, but I probably haven’t seen us make that many unforced errors across the team.

“This week it’ll be about coming out again to play a four quarter effort and not let the crowd or the opposition get into the game.

Despite the impact of the hundreds of fans who came out to the State Netball Centre, Murphy said a loss can only be seen a positive if they are to make the grand final.

“We’re still alive. It’s not a bad thing we have another high pressure game.”

Lightning coach Tegan Hopkins said she was “excited” to come up against one of the league’s best.

“I feel like it’s still a long road to the grand final, but last week gave the girls a bit of a sniff of how they can go through to the next one and go through again,” Hopkins said.

“I did think we would be here up against Geelong. Falcons hadn’t played Geelong with Jane (Cooke) and they had momentum, they had all of it by the end of the game.

“Like always, we’ll stick to the game plan and trust and believe in each other.

“It’s going to be a really tough game and we know it’s going to take a lot of work, but it’s also a really exciting opportunity for us.”

In Division 1, premiership favourites, the Blaze, suffered their first loss of the season to the Hawks last week, while the Cougars will be coming off a solid win against the Falcons.

Preliminary final profile: Geelong Cougars

Melissa Bragg from the Geelong Cougars.

Ladder position: 1

Win-loss ratio: 17 – 1

Star player: Julia Woolley. With over 23 years of experience on a netball court, goal attack Julia Woolley will be a defining player in Wednesday’s clash. Her ability to control the game and shoot under pressure will be essential under the pressure of Gabbey Coffey.

The coach: Gerard Murphy. With years of experience at the Cougar’s helm, Murphy is no stranger to finals. A former Victorian mens netballer himself and state team coach, Murphy has finals experience behind him and knows how to get the win under pressure.

Likely starting 7:

GS: Zanna Woods

GA: Julia Wooley

WA: Vanessa Augustini

C: Mel Bragg

WD: Ally O’Connor

GD: Tori Honner

GK: Brooke Allan

Preliminary final profile: Melbourne University Lightning

The Melbourne University Lightning during a huddle.

Ladder position: 3

Win-loss ratio: 12 – 5 – 1

Star player: Kelsie Rainbow. Rainbow played a key role in centre for the Lighting against the Blaze last Wednesday. Her connection with Jordan Cransberg in WA make them formidable, and incredibly fast.

The coach: Tegan Hopkins. In her first year of coaching Championship for the Lightning, Hopkins said she has been lucky to have such a talented team to coach. Hopkins will have although task in choosing

Likely starting 7:

GS: Mikaela Vaughan

GA: Claudia Mawson

WA: Jordan Cransberg

C: Kelsie Rainbow

WD: Madeline Stewart

GD: Gabby Coffey

GK: Maggie Caris