Launceston has turned the clock back to its 2017 premiership year on Sunday by defeating the team that usurped its TSLW crown.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a new era at Windsor Park, coach Angela Dickson led the Blues to a convincing 9.3 (57) to 4.3 (27) win over a hapless Glenorchy.
Almost inspired by witnessing newcomers North Launceston pile on a lofty 16 goals from 31 scoring shots, Launceston then went about setting another standard.
A six-goal straight opening quarter all but ensured the game was as good as over.
The Magpies never got close to trimming back the 29-point lead as the Blues could sit back and defend.
Dickson said she could not have asked any more of her teammates in a tough first assignment against the reigning champions.
"I think round 1 you can't expect too much, but we showed what we can do out there," Dickson said.
"Even for ourselves, we know we have got lots of areas that we can improve on.
"Hopefully we have set a good standard today, but we will just keep raising that and raising that even more."
Dickson regained Daria Bannister to the line up for the first time since 2017.
The top North Melbourne recruit only returned in March where the 19-year-old played two games after one with Western Bulldogs.
She spent all of last year sidelined while recovering from an ACL knee injury.
The Blues have also picked up Chloe Haines, who the Kangaroos AFLW talent was close to best-on-ground in the side's five-goal victory.
The Burnie recruit, since the coastal club withdrew from the competition at the end of last year, ran both ways up the wing, continually presented herself to teammates and took a series of fantastic contested marks.
But Blues were missing Mia King, fresh off a stellar performance for the Tasmania Devils under-18 women.
Dickson said finding the balance in the side while beating the benchmark last year made the win sweeter.
"We kind of came out not with high expectations, but we thought we'd be at least able to bring it to the top team," she said.
"We definitely didn't play our strongest team today.
"We were just trying to get some game time into the newbies to see how they went. They were fantastic."
"Young Makenna [Hillier] ended up kicking two goals in the first half of her debut game, which was great."
Abbey Green was another standout in what promises to be a big season ahead, a confident Dickson believes.
The versatile ruck impacted marking contests and followed up at ground level, earning a goal in the process.
"So we ticked the boxes even if we are a bit sore and tired now," Dickson said.
"We'll regroup and prepare again now."
Love local sport? You should sign up to our new sports newsletter.
I think round 1 you can't expect too much, but we showed what we can do.
- Coach Angela Dickson