AFTER a rusty training session and creaky first half, Hampden showed glimpses of regular season form to shake off Koroit in the opening round of Western Regional State League last night.
Victorious coach Meleita Finnigan explained she wasn't expecting much from her side, which recorded a 51-44 win.
"No one is match fit and we have to get used to how each other plays," Finnigan said.
"Our training session was pretty rusty. We just had a run around, did some ball handling and matchplay.
"This is a chance to play with some different people.
"Megan (McKenzie) just said it was nice and refreshing to play with girls you don't usually play with, which it is."
While it was refreshing, it also proved challenging in the first half, with Finnigan again using "rusty" to describe it.
"There were quite a few turnovers," she said.
They kept the margin hovering at two goals before Hampden took a one-goal advantage into the main break.
Despite the hard-working Kate Dobson continuously delivering clean feeds into Koroit's goalers, which included the accurate Laura Blackburn, the Saints remained on the back foot in the third quarter.
Three consecutive goals from Hampden late in the term gave it a 35-32 lead at the last change.
"I thought our third quarter was pretty good," Finnigan said.
"We just started to settle. You could really see the difference between the first quarter and the last quarter."
The Saints came out firing in the final term, breaking Hampden's centre and scoring the next goal.
Emily Batt was moved into goal shooter at three-quarter time, replacing Blackburn who went out to goal attack.
The pair immediately clicked, with Batt using her strength to set screens and create space for her shooting partner.
But the swing in momentum was short-lived as Hampden's pressure and patience saw the buffer stretched out to four goals.
From there the Bottle Greens didn't look back and despite Finnigan praising her defenders, it was the coach's attacking end which stood out more.
The peripheral vision of Finnigan and her younger sister Emily-Rose shone as the siblings perfectly popped the ball into space for shooters Leah Kermeen and Danielle McLeod.
The goalers' familiarity with each other grew as the game went on.
McLeod repeatedly got in a prime position near the ring, with Kermeen then quickly flicking the ball to the teenager rather than attempting a mid-range shot.
While the tempo slowed down in the last quarter, the seasoned McKenzie provided good drive down the court after she and fellow defender Holly Greene caused turnovers.
While Finnigan was naturally pleased with Hampden's start to the competition, she explained the team wasn't getting too far ahead of itself.
"There's still a lot of improvements to be made," she said. "We don't know much about the Colac sides but all the other teams are pretty strong."
In the opening 17 and under match last night, South Warrnambool recorded a three-goal victory over Warrnambool and District Football Netball League.
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