The Alistair Gillin-led combination started its title defence with a 6/1 triumph over division one newcomer Peterborough at Camperdown Golf Club on Sunday.

Timboon took its “first choice side” into the season-opener with Luke Smith (8/7), Wes Hollick (7/5) and Rodney Gillin (5/4) leading the way.

Two of the seven matches went to the 18th hole, with the two clubs splitting the honours.

Alistair Gillin said Timboon was pleased with its strong start to the season.

“It sounded like most of our guys played really solid,” he said. “It was good to get off to a good start because we have to play some highly-fancied sides early on.”

The experienced leader, who recorded a hard fought 3/1 win, said Peterborough would improve as it settled into the top grade.

“It is hard to tell (what you’ll get) with Peterborough because they have a lot of guys who come from Melbourne to play,” he said.

“It had been a long time since I’d played them but I have known from following them in other divisions that they are a pretty steady side.”

Timboon expects its main challengers this season to be 2014 runner-up Port Fairy and Warrnambool.

Both those outfits collected round one wins. Port Fairy defeated Terang 5/2 and Warrnambool edged out host club Camperdown 4/3.