Leading into last weekend's opening round there was a distinct feeling the 2019 Toyota Cup race could be as fiercely-contested as ever and the four season-opening games at Sir Neville Howse Stadium on Saturday afternoon went a long way to proving as much.
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It remains far from clear-cut which sides will contend however the opening round games has, at the very least, given an early indication Orange Netball Association West Orange Motors Senior Competition's top flight is anyone's to stamp their authority on.
Orange Physiotherapy Vipers and OHS Hornets lived up to the pre-season hype by downing Hawks Royals (45-30) and division one newcomers Life Studio Sportspower (62-37), respectively, while two other sides took a massive first step on the road to contender status too.
Two out of three ain't bad to start the season, especially when they're two good wins.
- Life Studio player-coach Mardi Aplin
After missing the finals in 2018 there was no denying Life Studio and Life Studio Mid West Eyes went into their opening round games against Orange City's top flight sides as underdogs, but based on their performances no one told them that.
The former side didn't just take down the reigning champions in Orange City Craig Harvey Mechanical they did so comfortably, and the latter side scored a convincing win over last season's beaten preliminary finalists in the Lions' Epiroc side too.
They won 49-34 and 57-34 respectively, with the latter side rocketing to the top of the ladder as a result.
"It was a really positive way for the club to start the season, our Sportspower side did go down but it was their first game in the top division and they'll keep learning. But two out of three ain't bad, especially when they're two good wins," Life Studio player-coach and club president Mardi Aplin said.
Albeit against a somewhat understrength Lions outfit, her side's victory sent a pretty emphatic message to the rest of the league considering they led from start to finish against the 11-time defending champions.
With boom recruits Alice Maier and Aurella White fitting in seamlessly, Life Studio shot out to an early lead and never gave it up, winning the first three quarters before taking their foot off the gas slightly in the fourth.
"We lost that last quarter by one goal, at the end of the game we probably weren't doing what we were at the start so there is plenty of room for improvement but to get a win like that against Orange City we obviously did a lot of things right," Aplin said.
"Orange City had a few players missing and they'll obviously get better as the season goes on so we're not going to gloat too much, but it's still a really pleasing result. We did want a consistent, four-quarter performance though so we'll keep working toward that.
"It was good to get the new players out on the court too and start working on different combinations. Alice and Aurella were both really good. Aurella's young and it's her first time playing [in the Toyota Cup], she's played with Alice before though over at Forbes."
Life Studio will look to back up their win in round two against the Hornets while Mid West Eyes will take on Sportspower in the first club derby of the 2019 season.
Last year's premiers will be gunning to bounce back in a rematch of the 2018 decider against Vipers next weekend, and Hawks and Orange City Epiroc will fight it out in the other round two fixture.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
