Ballarat Netball League
In an exciting opening day of the Ballarat Netball League, many teams looked to get their seasons off on the right foot.
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In Saturday's closest game, last year's runners up East Point were able to spoil the party for Lake Wendouree, who were celebrating club legend Kara Hart's 300th game.
The Kangaroo's came out looking to make a statement and put the disappointment of last year's grand final behind them.
Coach Jo Bayles said last year's defeat has allowed them to get stronger mentally and improve their composure going into 2019.
"Our performance today was a testament to all the work physically and mentally in the off-season," she said.
Bayles said the game was 'tough and challenging' and was surprised by the high standard produced by both teams so early in the competition.
"Usually there's always a bit of rust in round one but here there was none of that. The game really came down to which team made the least mistakes."
After leading for much of the game East Point had their lead cut to just one in the dying minutes of action before holding on to secure a two goal victory. Bayles said the win gives the Kangaroos confidence going forward.
"It's great to start the season with a win especially against such a great side."
Elsewhere two classic rivals played out the next closest game of the round with Melton South pulling out a narrow win against Melton.
Panters coach Anna Edmonds said she was impressed by a Bloods side that failed to register a single win in 2018.
"They've got some very strong goalers," she said.
"I think they'll definitely push some teams this year."
Edmonds said it was getting the first win of the season was key and something her team had discussed all week.
"We wanted to get back to basics and make sure we got a good win on the board in round one."
15-year-old goaler Lindy Stevens made her A-grade debut after an injury led Edmonds to putting her into the game.
"We feel as though getting out young players experience early is key to getting the best out of them going forward."
Around the rest of the league reigning premiers North Ballarat City scored a 25 goal win over Bacchus Marsh to pen their season, Sunbury got the better of Darley and Ballarat scored a big win over Sebastopol.
Central Highlands Netball League
Round three of the CHNL saw some contenders get their first wins while other teams began to fall.
At the top of the competition, perennial powerhouses Learmonth and Springbank remain undefeated after comfortable wins against Ballan and Gordon respectively.
Hepburn also remain without a loss after an impressive 20 goal win over Waubra and are looking to prove their deep finals run was no fluke.
Bungaree got their first win of the year as they edged out Dunnstown on the road by two goals. It was the first loss of the year for the Towners who had previously beaten Waubra and Skipton.
Rokewood-Cordinhap easily handled Carngham-Linton by 25 goals, Creswick kept Daylesford without a win on the year, Skipton finished on top of Beaufort by 12 goals and Buninyong put together the biggest win of the round against Newlyn finishing with an 84-17 win.
DETAILS
BFL
A GRADE
Sunbury 66 d Darley 45
East Point 46 d Lake Wendouree 44
Melton South 40 d Melton 37
North Ballarat City 63 d Bacchus Marsh 38
Ballarat 67 d Sebastopol 52
LADDER: NORTH BALLARAT CITY 4, 165.79; SUNBURY 4, 146.67; BALLARAT 4, 128.85; MELTON SOUTH 4, 108.11; EAST POINT 4, 104.55; LAKE WENDOUREE 0, 95.65; Melton 0, 92.50; Sebastopol 0, 77.61; Darley 0, 68.18; Bacchus Marsh 0, 60.32; Redan 0, -
B GRADE
Sunbury 67 d Darley 23
Lake Wendouree 45 d East Point 41
Melton South 41 d Melton 36
Bacchus Marsh 47 d North Ballarat City. 26
Ballarat 65 d Sebastopol 36
LADDER: SUNBURY 4, 291.30; BACCHUS MARSH 4, 180.77; BALLARAT 4, 175.68; MELTON SOUTH 4, 113.89; LAKE WENDOUREE 4, 109.76; EAST POINT 0, 91.11; Melton 0, 87.80; Sebastopol 0, 56.92; North Ballarat City 0, 55.32; Darley 0, 34.33; Redan 0, -
CHFL
A GRADE
Learmonth 63 d Ballan 26
Skipton 36 d Beaufort 24
Buninyong 84 d Newlyn 17
Creswick 54 d Daylesford 28
Bungaree 59 d Dunnstown 57
Springbank 56 d Gordon 25
Hepburn 46 d Waubra 26
Rokewood-Corindhap 60 d Carngham-Linton 35
LADDER: HEPBURN 12, 339.68; LEARMONTH 12, 286.84; SPRINGBANK 12, 158.95; BUNINYONG 8, 174.55; ROKEWOOD-CORINDHAP 8, 158.77; DUNNSTOWN 8, 119.85; GORDON 8, 92.14; CLUNES 8, 91.78; Ballan 8, 88.37; Waubra 4, 117.36; Bungaree 4, 85.21; Skipton 4, 74.07; Carngham-Linton 4, 65.10; Creswick 4, 52.10; Newlyn 4, 34.15; Beaufort 0, 47.30; Daylesford 0, 28.51
B GRADE
Learmonth 36 d Ballan 25
Skipton 31 d Beaufort 14
Newlyn 43 d Buninyong 30
Creswick 40 d Daylesford 26
Dunnstown 27 d Bungaree 26
Springbank 34 d Gordon 25
Hepburn 63 d Waubra 29
Rokewood-Corindhap 36 d Carngham-Linton 23
LADDER: HEPBURN 12, 292.86;LEARMONTH 12, 216.95; SPRINGBANK 8, 113.59; WAUBRA 8, 105.88; CLUNES 8, 105.77; DUNNSTOWN 8, 105.19; BALLAN 8, 100; BUNINYONG 8, 99.14; Newlyn 8, 98.57; Rokewood-Corindhap 8, 89.77; Bungaree 4, 119.51; Gordon 4, 88.24; Skipton 4, 87.91; Carngham-Linton 4, 83.33; Creswick 4, 76.42; Daylesford 0, 38.36; Beaufort 0, 33.88