SWAN Hill began their premiership defence in style by producing a hard-fought 10-goal win over a gallant Woorinen.
In the frenetic early stages, the reigning premiers were challenged by the Tigers, who took a one-goal lead into the main break.
The Swans then rallied, however, outscoring Woorinen 27 goals to 16 to eventually run out 43-33 winners.
In a match were the momentum swung wildly at times, Swan Hill who proved more consistent in the second half.
Swans co-coach Madeleine Nalder pleased to get the four points against a quality opponent.
“It’s always nice, regardless of who you’re playing, to get a win on the board first up,” Nalder said.
“We were really happy with our game yesterday, but the score wasn’t reflective of how tough the match was, it ebbed and flowed a lot and both teams had stretches of play where they had the momentum.
“We knew going into the game that it was going to be a tough match against Woorinen and it was, but it was nice to get a win.”
Renee Isma led the way under the ring for Swan Hill, shooting a game-high 29 goals, and Maeve Sheldrick contributed 14 goals in an all-new attacking combination for the Swans.
It was a similar story for Woorinen, whose young gun Willow Conlan posted 28 goals alongside Toni Bolton.
In fact, both clubs went into Saturday’s match almost unrecognisable, with Karli McIntyre the only premiership player to take to the court for Swan Hill, and Tessa Demaria, Ava Crow and Jaimee Beasy the only existing members of Woorinen’s A Grade team from last season.
“It’s exciting, but at the same time it can be a challenge working on new combinations and new structures,” Nalder said.
“For a lot of years we had a very similar side, we may have had a couple of minor changes here and there, but for the most part we had a relatively consistent team, but I was super proud of the effort from the girls as a first hit-out.
“I felt as the game wore on, we became more composed with the ball and the longer the game went we were able to maintain possession better.
“At the start of the match we were a bit more rushed with our decision making and our passing, which led to us just putting ourselves under pressure, but once we addressed that throughout the game, I felt we settled into our work a bit better.”
While disappointed to not get the result, Woorinen coach Tayla Bennett was still full of praise for her young side, including Conlan.
“We had a great game as a collective, but Willow Conlan was a stand out,” Bennett said.
“She proved that she deserves that spot and with what she displayed, I can’t wait to see how far she grows this season.
“Courtney Lolicato was another that proved she can rise to any occasion and worked well alongside Tessa (Demaria).
“While it was still a loss, I felt it was still a strong performance from a newly formed side and we had lots of opportunities, and we stayed right with them until the final quarter, where our risk taking didn’t quite go our way.”
Stevie Bibby proved the most influential player on the court for Swan Hill – showing composure and an ability to read the play, she intercepted many Woorinen attacking entries.
Isma was also among the Swans’ better players.
FINAL WHISTLE
WOORINEN 33
SWAN HILL 43
