Shepparton North dropped the first set against McEwen Reserve Red, but backhanded the Reds’ early assertion to claim a 7-51 to 2-22 victory.
Clark Pettigrew and Dean Pritchett fell 4-6 in the opening set, but would dominate the second, winning six games to one.
Shepparton North’s Louise Dwyer and Kellie Crosier dominant effort in the fourth rubber was the set of the match, prevailing 6-0 against McEwen Reserve Red’s Sofia Stojanovski and Donna Whelan.
With such dominance across the nine-rubber match, Shepparton North look primed in its title defence after claiming the SDTA section one trophy in March.
McEwen Reserve Gold has made an early statement after its previous summer campaign saw them finish in fifth, waltzing past Murchison to win 8-53 to 1-20.
Four of the nine rubbers were determined 6-1 in favour of the Gold, while rubber three was won 6-0 by Justin Hunter and Lloyd Akers.
McEwen Reserve Gold’s only set loss came by the slimmest of margins, too, in a 5-6 defeat in rubber four.
The club will play Lemnos in round two, which is set to play its first match after sitting out round one with the bye.
It will prove an intriguing test for McEwen Reserve Gold, with its Friday performance a win over an untried outfit fresh to the competition following Murchison’s promotion from section two, while Lemnos finished third on last season’s ladder.
Should the Gold snare another winning result, its credentials to return to finals contention will be further backed up.
Meanwhile, Murchison and McEwen Reserve Red will look to avenge opening round defeats against one another, as Shepparton North take the bye in round two.
