Last year's grand finalists defeated Kingston 59-41, a scoreline that co-coach Lou Carter said didn't reflect the closeness of the contest.

"Kingston certainly took it up to us and it didn't appear to reflect how close it was at times," she said.

"We had a pretty close first half, 27-20, and then we drew away a bit in the second but all-in-all everyone got on, which was good because we had a couple of very young ones in the defensive end.

"It was a good first-up start."

The Cavaliers have had a busy off-season in the form of 11 changes - six outs and five ins.

Among the outs were young guns Esther and Eunice Kidmas and Ava Lockwood as well as experienced trio Estelle Margetts, Dana Lester and Deanna Wadley.

But the new-look Cavs, featuring the youth of Paige O'Neill, Matilda Allen and Lily Case, got the job done - with Carter praising their ability to stick to the game plan.

"We knew a little bit about their personnel from previous years and they were obviously in the team," she said.

"We turned a lot of ball over and our conversion was good too, so not only did we turn them over but our conversion was pretty high - probably around the 70 per cent in terms of gained possessions.

"Sometimes when you gain them, you tend to throw them away again so that was a positive.

"Defensively we were also good, particularly in the second half. We stuck to what we needed to do and turned a lot of ball over, so created errors for Kingston, which is why we drew away."

Carter highlighted the excellent performance of leadership-group member Kelly Atkinson.

The defender "stood out" and led from the front, communicating strongly with her new teammates and was named best on court.

Shelby Miller's reliable contribution was once again welcomed, as was Shannae Heazlewood's.

The Cavaliers continue their season's opening weekend with an 11am Sunday match-up against Karana, who finished sixth last year.

Northern Hawks defeated Cripps Waratah 69-33 which was impressive considering the two sides met in the 2023 preliminary final.

The Hawks jumped to a 14-5 quarter-time lead and increased the margin at every break during the round one clash at Hobart Netball and Sports Centre.

Ash Mawer starred with 42 goals while Courtney Treloar and Kendall Jones knocked down 18 and nine respectively.

New coach Maddie Walker, who has taken the reins from the departing Alicia Sargent, praised the group's defensive pressure.

"It was just outstanding," she said.

Walker was impressed with former Devon captain Macy Goninon's debut.

"Macy fitted-in really well and pretty seamlessly," she said.

"She played through the centre court."

Danielle Laugher also had a great hit-out in her new role for the team.

"Dan has rotated from (shooting) goals down to the defensive end," Walker said.

"She fitted-in really well with our defensive line-up and certainly worked well with them."

The Hawks, who are chasing a historic three-peat, have an away clash against South East Suns at 11am on Sunday.

Walker, who has coached at Devon in the past, said she enjoyed her first game as coach.

She said she had a well-balanced team.