Only three goals separated the sides after a tight first half before the Burras took control of the game in the second on their way to a 54-41 win.

Burras coach Claire Drum said it was pleasing to start the season with a good result.

“It’s nice to start with a win while we can still see a lot of room for improvement,” she said.

“We got a chance to see where we can step up a little more by tweaking things.

“I didn’t expect us to hit the road running at the pace we want to be at the end of the season but it was a great starting point.”

It was even during the first quarter of the game as both teams made an effort to settle into the new season. Dimboola’s defensive pressure allowed the side to restrict the flow of Minyip-Murtoa’s attacking thrusts during the second quarter but it could not stop the home team from taking a 22-19 lead into halftime.

Drum was wary of the heat and switched things around during the break. She moved Ash Knight to wing attack and Laura Delahunty to centre while Georgian McLennan came on as goal shooter and Lateesha Gascoyne slotted into wing defence. 

“I think the moves worked well and almost woke the team up a little,” she said.

“Ash and Georgia brought a lot more movement and energy to our attacking third – it helped us get going again.

“We needed to make some more changes when Stef Cooper copped a knock to the back of the head later in the quarter and they took the changes really well.”

Kirby Knight and McLennan piled on 15 goals for the Burras in the third quarter while Paula Weidermann helped restrict Dimboola’s Billie-Jo Barber and Stephanie Miller to just nine.

Momentum stayed with the home team in the final quarter as its lead grew from nine at three-quarter time to 13 by the final whistle. 

“We were a bit slow to start with but I suppose that had a lot to do with it being round one,” Drum said. “We were probably still trying to get with the flow of the game.

“As the game went on we got it together a bit more but Dimboola were putting a lot of pressure on, especially on the line of our attacking third initially.” 

Barber and Jodie Hayes best for Dimboola while Weidermann and Ash Knight were best for the Burras.

The Horsham Demons were too strong for the Horsham Saints in the final match of the first round on Sunday. The Demons controlled the game from the opening whistle and built on their lead in each quarter before winning 68-37.

Emma Buwalda converted at an impressive 83 percent to finish with 57 of her side’s goals while Elley Heard and Victoria Taylor were superb in defence.