Once in a Generation: Cobra Men, Women, Advance to VYC Championship Game at home
An incredible year by the VYC program as a whole sees the Cobras host the ultra-rare championship game double, with the Women punching their ticket with a dominant home Preliminary Final win over the Sabres, while Cobra Men got it done on the road against the rival Raiders in impressive fashion, as they advance to their third consecutive championship game.
The Cobra Women closed the regular season in scintillating form to clinch the league’s #2 seed, and have levelled their play up in the postseason, winning their two playoff games by a combined 53 points. Head Coach Michael Walsh’s team punched their grand final ticket with a dominant home performance over Sandringham on Saturday, defeating the Sabres, 73-53. Lily Exton led the way with an astonishing effort on the glass, pulling down a ridiculous 25 rebounds to go along with 15 points, while point guard Georgia McBean added 16 points, nine assists and three steal and Hannah Day chipped in with 13 points four rebounds and five assists.
The quartet of Exton, McBean, Day and Krystal Arnason has been simply dominant over the second half of the season, with the Cobras star core featuring amongst the league leaders in seemingly every statistical category. They’ve been well supported by guards Olivia Jennings and Tasha Holly, and forward Katie Wilson, with the Cobras deep and talented roster set to battle a tough Keilor Thunder team for the 2025 championship. The Cobras defeated the Thunder in their first final, 92-69, in emphatic fashion, but with the two teams splitting their regular season matchups, and a single win separating them in the standings, Saturday night is set to be a thriller on home court.
The Cobra Men delivered a regular season for the ages, boasting a 21-1 record to secure the league’s top record heading into the postseason. Kilsyth were stunned on home court to open their playoff campaign, though, but have responded with two spectacular victories over the Eltham Wildcats and Knox Raiders to advance to the VYC title game for the third year in a row. The Cobras preliminary final win over the Raiders saw them exact their revenge over Knox, who delivered Kilsyth its lone regular season loss. Standout performances from Isaac Ghosn (24 points, six rebounds, six assists), Macauley Haig (19 points, three blocks) Lachie Vander Vorm (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks) led the Cobras to a 90-76 win over the Raiders, setting the stage for a championship game showdown vs the Frankston Blues on home court.
The Cobras-Blues matchup is set to be a blockbuster event, with Frankston boasting the league’s second best record at 17-5. The two teams met in the VYC postseason in 2023, with the Cobras coming back from 22 points down - led by Isaiah Harvey’s heroics - to record an incredible comeback victory. In the Cobras 2025 playoff run, they’ve been led by Ghosn (18.3ppg/7.0rpg/5.0apg) and Vander Vorm (17.3ppg/7.0rpg/4.0apg), while head coach Zac Wuersching’s depth has seen a myriad of strong supporting contributions.
With a pair of championships on the line at home, this is set to be one of the biggest game nights in recent Cobra history. Tickets are sold out, but you can watch both games live here:
VYC Women’s Grand Final (5:30pm tipoff)
VYC Men’s Grand Final (8:00pm tipoff)
