Live stream: Western Warriors face Southern Saints in Victoria Netball League Round 22 double header

The Southern Saints have snatched victory from the hands of the Western Warriors in a thrilling Championship match. Watch the replays from the VNL double header.

KommunityTV apologises for the technical issues during our livestream of the Championship game. We will have a full and uninterrupted replay of the game available as soon as possible.

It took a full 60 mintues for the Southern Saints to take down a persistent Western Warriors side 55-53.

The see-sawing contest never had a lead grow larger than three points by either team, as they battled it out across four quarters.

While the Warriors led the first quarter 13-10, the Saints forced a five goal turnaround at the half.

An impressive buzzer beater from distance by Saints goal attack and Melbourne Vixen Lily Graham provided the spark her team needed to keep the ball rolling for the rest of the game.

She showed off her Super Netball experience hitting 34 shots on 94 percent shooting.

On the other end of the court, the matchup between Saints goal defence Jessie Grenvold and Warriors shooter Kimberly Borger was one to watch, as the pair competed for each touch of the ball.

While Borger was heavily contested on defence, this left the window open for goal attack Julia Woolley who would go on to make all 16 of her goal attempts.

The last time these two teams met was in round nine where the Saints won by 14 points.

The tight contest proved a testament to how much the Warriors have grown in just their first year of the competition.

Both teams will now look forward to planning for the next Victorian Netball League competition as their seasons come to an end.

WATCH THE CHAMPIONSHIP REPLAY ABOVE, SCROLL DOWN FOR THE 23-AND-UNDER REPLAY

Replay: Western Warriors v Wilson Storage Southern Saints (23 and under)

The Western Warriors have put a damper on the Southern Saints’ end-of-season hot streak, defeating the higher ranked squad 56-43.

The Warriors were charging on defence, pouncing on any loose balls throughout the centre third.

Their dominant defence led to offence with a convincing win for each quarter.

However it wasn’t just the Warriors defence that was shining.

Goal keeper Caitlin Cook was a menance for the Saints, creating a number of deflections and coming away with a series of steals.

PREVIEW

Southern Saints’ 23-and-under VNL finals run may have come a fraction too late, but a nice caveat to their season remains on offer heading into the final round.

The Saints, who sit six points outside the top four ahead of round 22, will look to make it four in a row against Western Warriors to finish their season on Wednesday night.

Catch all the 23&U and Championship action LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV from 7pm.

Check the full LIVE STREAM schedule for details.

Saints 23&U co-coach Matthew Cooke felt while there had been some inconsistency from his young playing group this year, overall there were plenty of positives to take away in what had been expected to be a development year.

“We want to continue moving forward,” Cooke said.

“Sides we’ve already beaten this year, we don’t want to lose to again.

Can the Saints finish their 23&U commiutments in style? Pic: Grant Treeby.

“If we can finish the year not having knocked off a top four side, but being able to beat the sides around us, we’ll be really happy.”

While City West Falcons, Peninsula Waves and Geelong Cougar will fight for the final spot of the 23&U top four - with Hawks, Melbourne University Lighting and North East Blaze already guaranteed top three - for those outside contention, a win in round 22 is all about taking momentum into a new pre-season.

Cooke was confident the Saints had the potential to enter the next echelon of 23&U teams with another campaign under their belt.

“I think if that 23s group, if it can stay together, is positioned for that top five-ish group, which is pretty clustered,” he said.

“I’d say we’re probably in that middle space, we probably think we could have made finals (this year), but again there is three or four sides who could have made the fourth spot.”

While championship-listed Caitlin Cooke has led an evenly spread Saints defence on her return from ACL injury, one player who has developed nicely this year has been goal attack Hayley Ray, who crossed from North East Blaze and partnered strongly alongside Hayley Howard and Annecy Lyon.

The Saints have made giant strides in 2024. Pic: Grant Treeby

“She’s come along brilliantly,” Cooke said of Ray.

“She’s quite quick, she’s dynamic, she can shoot from range, she’s a good size.

“She’s probably got the capability to play as a holding goaling role and play out there on court on transition, but she’s got great range on her shot as well, which means structurally when sides want to team up or double down on you, you’ve got someone who can draw them off and really make you pay if they don’t worry about her.”

Originally published as Live stream: Western Warriors face Southern Saints in Victoria Netball League Round 22 double header