Moama and Rumbalara will make for a compelling showdown on the courts of Moama Recreation Reserve, with both sides having posted huge wins to open their respective campaigns.
The early results have given each side a sniff of the upper crust as they shoot to better their finals efforts from 2023.
In Rumbalara’s case, there is even more on the line.
After all, the Magpies themselves dumped the Shepparton-based outfit from knockout netball last year in a hard-fought elimination final.
Fortuitously for Moama, ongoing refurbishments at Rumbalara mean last year’s preliminary finalist gets three home games in a row to start 2024.
This shapes an advantage, according to Moama’s Olivia Taverna.
“We're definitely going into this game with a confidence boost, but we're well aware of Rumba's strength,” Taverna said.
“Every time we come up against Rumba, and I’ve played them for years now, it’s a good contested game.
“We were lucky to sneak away with it in the end (in last year’s elimination final), but I have full confidence in our girls that we can play our brand of netball.”
After decimating Echuca United 77-14 in their season opener, the Magpies enter a challenging stretch of fixtures over the next month.
Both sides will continue to have their credentials assessed early, but Moama’s stretch of tough hit-outs is of little concern to Taverna.
“I think in our first five rounds, we’re probably playing three top teams with Tongala and Deniliquin to come,” Taverna said.
“It puts a realistic margin on what we need to get to.
“If it doesn’t go our way, we can return to the drawing board and work on what we need to fix to be strong enough to take them on in finals.”
Meanwhile, Rumbalara’s Jess Bamblett envisions this week as a chance to see how new additions fare under pressure.
“(Moama) will be tough this week, but we’ve got a couple of different girls to set up the midcourt,” Bamblett said.
“It’s really just about our game plan and not worrying about Moama’s.
“We’re pretty confident after last week’s win, but this week will give an indication of how good we’re going to be this year; not to take anything away from Numurkah, but this will be a big test to see where we’re at.
“We’re all looking forward to the big chance in facing teams like Deniliquin and Moama. We’ll just go one at a time and see how we go.”
Elsewhere in the A-grade sphere, the news gets no easier for Echuca United after a round one thrashing, with the Eagles set to welcome reigning premier Tongala to Echuca South Recreation Reserve.
Three other games pit one victorious round one team against a side that came up short, with Barooga (0-1) hosting Mulwala (1-0), Finley (0-1) staging its home opener against Cobram (1-0) and Nathalia (0-1) facing a big test against Deniliquin (1-0).
Finally, Congupna and Numurkah collide at Memorial Park, each seeking its maiden success.
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