Round 12 of the VCL was an absolute scorcher, with afternoon games in Knox being called off due to the heat, and everyone state wide keeping their water bottles handy.

Rivers FC were switched on in the Under 13 Girls, with a silky smooth 4-1 win over Northern All Stars, who looked quite capable of matching Rivers in patches. Central City and Loddon Mallee Lightning both had narrow wins over the weekend, with Central City defeating Gippsland 1-0 and Loddon Mallee beating Wimmera South Coast in a 3-2 thriller. An inspired second half performance saw South East Cougars draw 2-2 with Western Wolves, Southern Bluetongues defeated Eastern 6-0 and North East Diamonds defeated North West Wanderers 7-0.

The Under 13 Boys was particularly exciting this week, with a number of matches going down to the wire. North East Diamonds narrowly defeated North West Wanderers 3-2 in a classic encounter at Clifton Park while Loddon Mallee Lightning were able to maintain their 2-1 half time advantage over Wimmera South Coast Eagles throughout the second half. Rivers FC and Northern All Stars both looked good in their 1-1 draw while a single goal was enough for South East Cougars to claim the three competition points over Western Wolves. Gippsland Knights earned their first competition points of the season, beating Central City 5-1 at DISC while Southern Bluetongues were too strong for Eastern, winning 8-0.

Wimmera South Coast looked good in their 2-0 win over Loddon Mallee in the Under 14 Boys, with the Eagles one of four teams to keep a clean sheet over the weekend. Northern All Stars won their match against Rivers FC 3-0, Central City accounted for Gippsland 8-0 and Southern defeated Eastern 2-0 at the glorious Knox Regional Football Centre. North East Diamonds doubles their half time advantage to defeat North West Wanderers 4-2 while Western Wolves ran riot up front as they defeated South East Cougars 6-2 to move into top spot on the table.

Under 15 Girls powerhouses South East and Western clashed this week, with the Cougars carrying the day 3-0. Wimmera South Coast went down 3-1 to Loddon Mallee despite looking particularly good in the second half. Central City defeated Gippsland 4-1, North East Diamonds went one better and beat North West Wanderers 5-1 while Northern edged past Rivers 1-0 in a tight encounter.

A sterling second half effort by Central City in the Under 15 Boys saw them snatch a 2-2 draw in a tough encounter after trailing Gippsland 2-2 at half time, though the Knights finished the game with only 10 players on the pitch. A 5-0 first half for Northern set up a comfortable 6-1 win over Rivers FC, who didn’t play badly at all, Loddon Mallee and Wimmera drew 2-2 while North East defeated North West to remain top of the table.

It was a high scoring round in the Under 17 Girls, with all matches producing at least four goals. The round yielded two 6-3 results, with North East defeating North West and Central defeating Gippsland. Loddon Mallee defeated Wimmera South Coast Eagles 5-0, Northern overcame Rivers 3-1 while South East and Western couldn’t be separated, drawing 2-2.

It was goals aplenty in the Under 17 Boys this week, with Northern All Stars and Rivers FC pulling out all the stops to produce an 8-5 epic, with Northern collecting the win, though neither team would be happy with their defence. The Western Wolves strikers were also in fine form, helping their side to a 6-1 win over South East. North East Diamonds overcame North West Wanderers 4-2, Loddon Mallee had the narrowest of 3-2 wins over league leaders Wimmera South Coast and Central City and Gippsland drew 2-2.