Ky coach Sara Kent said it was a “nail-biting clash” that went down the wire, but she was proud of her troops for holding on in the 49-43 win.
After going into the first break down by several goals, Kent’s crew rallied and pushed themselves up by five goals midway through the second quarter.
It was a margin the Bulldogs could not topple, with the Bombers’ fitness holding them in good stead through the rest of the game.
“We’ve been training since late November and I think that really showed today,” Kent said.
“It was a really physical game and I think at the start it was just a bit of nerves — despite having a few practice games it was still the first game with a relatively new team.
“To their credit they settled really well and after quarter time it was great to see them reset.”
Kent said Chicky Vick and Alyssa Trebilcock held their own in attack, while Jemma Hall worked well in her new position in goal defence.
Meanwhile, Seymour started its season with a perfect hit-out against Benalla.
The Lions came away with a 66-to-29 victory over the Saints, which coach Ellie O’Sullivan said had “everything you could ask for” from a season-opener.
O’Sullivan said the Lions had a full side together, which allowed her to spin the magnets a little bit.
“Benalla are always a very physical side and they challenged us really well that way,” O’Sullivan said.
“We changed a few things around and played a bit with some different combinations.”
She said Jess Lallo came on after halftime and played well at both ends of the court, while Casey Adamson, Nikita Singe and Sarah Szczykulsi were all “really good as well”, spending most of their time in defence.
“We’re very pleased with it,” O’Sullivan said.
“We’re happy we were able to bring intensity into each quarter and it was good to get everyone out on the court, but we’ve still got to work on staying mentally in it all game.”
Shepparton Swans went down to Shepparton United on their home deck, with United coming away 50-27 winners in the round-one clash.
Echuca was too strong for Rocherster in a 49-38 victory, while Euroa thumped Mansfield 68-25 and Mooroopna defeated Shepparton 63-49.
