Regarded as one of the best matches on the TNL's calendar, the Hawks and the Cavaliers' first derby of the season did not fail to disappoint as it went down to the wire at the Silverdome.

READ MORE: Hawks and Cavaliers season previews for 2022

Resembling the enthralling nature of last season's decider, the Hawks climbed off the canvas from a double-digit deficit to be ultimately victorious over the reigning premiers.

Hawks coach Kellie Woolnough was left impressed by her squad's resilience after their fight-back.

"I think the ability of the girls to come back was amazing, they have belief in themselves and I think it was a good indication that even when things aren't going our way, [we] can have a really good battle," she said.

In the aftermath of a thrilling game decided in the last minute, Woolnough pointed to a trio of players, two of which crossed over in the off-season, as key contributors.

"Lynette [Childs] and Mon [Dufty] both stepped up tonight, they were very instrumental in the turnovers, which, especially when we were down by 13 goals, very inspiring some of the intercepts they were taking," she said.

"Kendall went out to wing-attack and I think her feeds were pretty on point and [as was] her defensive game in that third quarter."

For the Cavaliers, they are left to pick up the pieces after losing their undefeated status and top spot in the TNL.

"As a coaching group, we learnt a lot about players under pressure, when you've got scoreboard pressure, time pressure and I think it is good for the players to be put under that position," Cavaliers coach Dan Roden said.

"It was disappointing the loss but you take away all the positives out of that [like] at half-time we were 11 goals up.

"We let it slip, part of that was some of the rotations and combinations we as a coaching group put out there and we were slow to react to some of those.

"We could have done that better and we will learn from that as coaches."

Northern Hawks triumphed in the latest instalment of their Launceston rivalry with the Cavaliers as they clinched a victory from the jaws of defeat 58-56.

The Cavaliers started the better of the two sides and were dominant for the majority of the first-half as the Hawks struggled to go with the reigning premiers.

Cavs were frantic around the ball as they delayed and in some cases, turned over the Hawks' passes as Hayley McDougall and Olive Morris finished off chance after chance.

The feeds between Cavs' captain Shelby Miller and McDougall were right out of the top draw, with the Hawks' defensive unit battling against the latter's nous and reach.

The game seemed largely set to be played on the reigning premiers' terms as the Cavs marched to an 11-point lead at the main break.

In front of the biggest crowd the Silverdome has seen since last year's grand final, the Hawks refused to let the game slip away with their undefeated mantle being challenged.

As if chess was being played on a netball court, both sides made positional changes at the break.

After starting the match in goal-attack, Ash Mawer moved into goal-shooter alongside Danni Pickett into goal-attack and Kendall Jones into wing-attack.

Lynette Childs and former Cavalier Monique Dufty were partnered in defence as the Hawks delivered a barnstorming third term. It completely altered the trajectory of the match.

Dufty and Childs were fierce in defence as they blanketed the Cavs' attacking threat and made the reigning premiers' long ball option fizzle out. It allowed last year's grand finalists to generate a fluid transition up the court helped by the movement of Jones and Pickett in the final third.

The pair seemed to find Mawer at every available opportunity with some slick feeds, and Mawer underlined her credentials as the league's pre-eminent shooter by duly converting.

The Hawks were almost untouchable in the third term as they out-scored the Cavs 17-8 and slice the lead to two points heading into the last term.

It brought the crowd right into the derby as the atmosphere ratcheted up around the Silverdome as the Hawks eyed the lead of the match.

They got it through Mawer as their attacking trifecta worked in sync to grab the first three goals of the term.

The scoreboard ticked over in a flurry as both teams gained, lost and regained the lead over the term.

The Cavaliers made a late charge for the lead in the final minutes as McDougall cut it to a deficit of one.

It was Courtney Treloar who seized the moment and iced the game for the Hawks as they ran out two-point winners.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: