Her women had charged through the opening month of action and were four-from-from, flying high at the top of the Orange District Netball Association ladder.

But, when you look at what this side has put on the court this year versus last year, there were nothing but positive vibes after the match.

In 2020, Hawks Royals finished the six-game regular season in fourth place, scoring 258 points throughout the campaign.

This year after just four games, the two blues have already eclipsed that number, knocking down 272 goals which is good for first in the league.

What does all of this mean? Well, in short... Hawks Royals are trending in the right direction.

"It's a huge improvement and I'm incredibly proud of how far we've come from last season," McCarthy said.

"That was the hardest game we've had all year. It's the first time we were really pushed and challenged... it was absolutely fantastic."

McCarthy is the first to admit that her squad has had a favourable draw to start the season, making the step-up in competition on Saturday a little startling.

"It was probably a bit of a shock to be put on the back foot straight away," she said.

"We were chasing points a lot of the game, and we were down by 10 points at one stage in the second half. It took us a little while to settle in."

Staying positive is something any coach should do, but the reality is a simple one: there's still plenty for Hawks Royals to work on.

"We were too slow to transition from attack to defence," she said.

"I don't think our shooters shot the ball as well as they would have liked either.

"But we've all taken a lot away from that game at it was a loss we needed to have. It's going to allow me to prepare a better tactically and use a little more strategy around player positions and combinations."

Two blues will turn their attention to a clash against Kinross' second side, before a marquee meeting against Orange City.

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