The ladder leaders faced adversity early on as Lana McCarthy's women took a lead into the break, but some half-time adjustments saw City run riot in the third term as they entered the final stanza with an eight-goal buffer.

From then on, the premiership favourites did what they had to do as some nifty work in the mid-court gave shooters the goal-scoring opportunities they needed to seal the deal.

City Wing defender Lilly Porch says Hawks Royals defensive structure startled her side in the opening exchanges, but they made the tweaks necessary to overcome it.

"They had a really good zone defence which I think put us off our game a bit," Porch said.

"We were struggling to bring the ball down the court in that second quarter. We were definitely better on the transverse in that third quarter and we brought the ball down the court better as well."

Everything seemed to fall Hawks Royals way in the first two terms, but once the sides had their break, Orange City began to tighten the screws defensively as they forced several turnovers and took advantage of some missed shots.

City sharpshooter Maddie Cole weighed in further on the changes her coaching staff made.

"We put Caitlyn Harvey down in the defence and her and Katie Matthews have played together for so long, they just knew what to do," Cole said.

"We threw me down in shooting which changed up our circle so we had a moving circle and I think that threw a bit of a spanner in the works for them."

Premierships aren't won in June, but after seven successive wins, Porch is happy to admit her side is tracking nicely.

"We don't want to say anything too early, but we're in a good spot," she said.

"We just want to keep working hard at training and progressing through the season. We're in a good spot for the grand final and I think it might be against these guys [Hawks Royals] or Life Studio.

Hawks Royals captain-coach Lana McCarthy was proud of her squad's efforts after the match, but conceded the third term made all the difference.

"I'm really proud. That was the best game we've played all season," McCarthy said.

"Defensively, that third quarter let us down. We did make some changes but sometimes when you try new things against a team like City, it doesn't work.

"You can't take the time to settle into a new combo, you have to come out firing or else they'll capitalise.

"They've got beautiful players, and talent across right across all thirds, and they've got the luxury of being able to change players and put them in different positions."

Approaching the half way point of the season, McCarthy is stoked at how far her group has come.

"We've only been playing together for two years and now, we're right up there with City and we're actually pushing them," she said.

"It's really exciting to say we are competitive against them. It was a good, hard competitive game and both teams played really well."

There were a lot of infringements ruled by the umpires on Saturday, something that admittedly took McCarthy by surprise.

"You have to go with what's being called... they aren't going to change their minds," she said.

"A lot of the contesting was fair but it wasn't seen that way. Maybe City adjusted to that better."

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