Powerhouse club City West Falcons swooped in to claim a 38-goal win against Sovereigns in Victorian Netball League championship division action at Wendouree Sports & Events Centre on Saturday night.

The Falcons also staked clear wins in division one and 19/unders, despite a huge third-quarter comeback in the 19s.

Sovereigns knew going into this round the Falcons were a formidable assignment.

This was the fifth game inside a fortnight since the VNL opener and there is one more round on Wednesday night before they finally get a week’s reprieve.

Sovereigns high performance manager Eloise Southby said while this was particularly tough for a new club, with a limited pre-season, the fixture was just as demanding for all teams.

But this blowout hurt.

Southby said the whole night, she kept thinking about the words of legendary Australian coach Joyce Brown – you all go into the game with two arms and two legs.

“City West has been a powerhouse of the competition for a while ... we certainly didn’t expect to lose by that much,” she said. “This is certainly not what we’re about and certainly not what we want to show supporters.

“Every game is going to be a challenge. The VNL has the most supply of players, not just to the Vixens, but across the ANZ Championships.

“It’s really about working hard at training and working on the things we know we got wrong, keeping up training intensity and doing the basics over and over again.’’

Errors in the basics crippled the Sovereigns under pressure.

Sovereigns head coach Natasha Chokljat kept players in a lengthy huddle post-match to immediately identify where the game went wrong and how to avoid another unravelling.

There were pockets of thrilling play. Seasoned Ballarat state-league player Lauren Atkinson looked fitter and sharper than ever in wing attack, driving to former Australian goaler Cynna Kydd, the highly respected Springbank playing-coach.

Goaler Jordyn Bibby served up some exciting shots, including a whistle-beater on quarter-time.

Centre Tessa Burton will add plenty of bite. Burton, from Swan Hill, was called into the team on the eve of the season as a late replacement for state representative defender Emma Ryan, who withdrew to concentrate on university studies. Thrown into the mix, Burton finally got her first training session with the squad earlier this week.

Southby said VNL was a huge step up for most of the Sovereigns players, especially on a short pre-season. Adjustment will take time.

The Sovereigns return to Wendouree Sports & Events Centre to face neighbouring rival Geelong Cougars on March 22.

melanie.whelan@fairfaxmedia.com.au

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION

City West 19 36 52 67

Sovereigns 8 13 23 29

SHOOTING – City West: Kathleen Knott 42 goals/54 attempts (78%), Stephanie Tyrell 20/29 (69%), Maggie Lind 5/7 (72%). Sovereigns: Jordyn Bibby 6/10 (60%), Cynna Kydd 19/28 (68%), Laura McDonald 4/7 (50%).

DIVISION ONE

City West 16 32 46 60

Sovereigns 4 13 24 39

SHOOTING – City West: Jan Cook 38/41 (93%), Mandy Hanegraaf 11/11 (100%), Tahnysha Salonoa 11/11 (100%). Sovereigns: Hayley Fidler 6/17 (36%), Amy Starzer 21/34 (62%), Jess Parry 12/15 (80%).

19/UNDERS

City West 13 26 35 46

Sovereigns 7 17 30 36

SHOOTING – City West: Millie Brock 22/35 (63%), Kayla Mallett 16/20 (80%), Bridget O’Halloran 18/23 (79%). Sovereigns: Abbey Ryan 22/35 (63%), Sasha McDonald 11/20 (55%), Zoe Ottavi 3/6 (50%).

NEXT: Sovereigns v Southern Saints on Wednesday at State Netball Hockey Centre.