Northern Hawks appeared as mighty as they have been all year with a commanding 80-41 victory over Karana.

But Cavaliers struggled to hold off a determined Cripps Waratah 41-38 that seriously threatened to just inflict the defending premier's second loss of the season.

The visitors that had lost just the once ahead of the weekend got within one goal twice in the second half, but could never quite pull away.

Cavaliers coach Dan Roden said the game trend was a lesson of perseverance.

"We did get the early jump and we were able to maintain that, but they play a great brand of netball and they always play out four quarters. So we knew it was going to be a real challenge," he said.

"The issue is that we didn't convert under the posts.

"I had thought defensively our effort was fantastic for the four quarters, our transition through the court was as good as [Saturday] and I think we ticked off on all the things we wanted to work on.

"But we didn't convert and if you don't convert from all that hard work, it becomes frustrating and it was."

Ace goal shooter Melody Phillpott had a rare ordinary game, shooting just 11 goals from 25 attempts.

It forced Roden to move players around until having Zoe Claridge take over under the net to score several clutch goals in the final term.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

"She did alright, didn't she? We went out in the last quarter saying that we must be able to finish all our hard work," Roden said.

"That put the weight of the acid onto on Zoe and Dee and they both stepped up."

But it was Estelle Margetts, Dana Lester and Shannae Heazlewood that just kept on blocking the attacking raids to keep Cavs in front.

"They were getting them right up until the middle of the game, so I feel that the defensive end really carried away what we wasted underneath the posts," Roden said.

The Hawks moved along to a 6-0 record at the half way mark of their campaign.

They extended the lead from nine at quarter-time to 23 at the half to seal the win.

"We just stripped it right back and asked the girls to execute their basics really well and they did, and the defensive game was on point," co-coach Ruth Tuohy said.

"It is just showing that all the training that we're doing is really starting to come through on the court.

"We are really happy with the girls' effort today and they enjoyed their game too."

Co-coach Kellie Woolnough even felt the pressure was its most intense this year.

Karana found it difficult to penetrate the back third while resultant feeds ensured star goaler Ash Mawer nailed a superb 62 from 68 shots.

"The girls really attacked our first phase of defence so we got the ball early," she said. "I think that's the difference because not only did we attack the first phase in defence over the line."

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