West, Souths, Kotara South and Junction Stella take wins in Newcastle championship netball round 1, 2023

West secured their fourth consecutive championship crown with a comfortable 51-38 win over University in last year's grand final.

But little could separate the two sides before West snatched a 42-41 victory at National Park netball courts on Saturday.

In a see-sawing affair, West led 8-7 at quarter-time but University held 21-20 and 32-31 advantages at the next two breaks.

Opposing coaches Tracey Baggs (West) and Traci Baber (University) agreed the game could have gone either way.

"Nobody really got ahead of anybody," Baggs said.

"I think we just got one good turnover that tipped it the other way and we were just a little bit more patient with the ball."

West did not feature grand final stars Maddie Taylor (goal shooter) and Sammie Chicken (goalkeeper), who have not yet been registered due to NSW Premier League commitments. Captain and centre Sophie Buckley was sidelined after having her appendix removed.

Centre Lauren Baxter made a seamless transition into the West midcourt after coming across from BNC.

University were also without key personnel. Defenders Veronica Smith and Angela Williams were unavailable and shooter Millie Tonkin (ankle) out due to injury.

Fifteen-year-old Matilda Lidbury made an impressive debut for University with a solid second-half performance at wing attack.

"It was a really good game," Baber said.

"I would say we probably didn't make great decisions at crucial times.

"Defensively, we did very well as a team. We just didn't probably make great decisions when we got turnover and had the ball in our hands.

"They were disappointed because they knew it was there to win but it was a good game, and there's good signs."

Back-to-back minor premiers Souths beat Nova Thunder 58-47. The damage was done in the latter stages of the game after Nova led 14-12 at the first break then trailed 27-25 at half-time.

The loss of premier league shooter Sally Jenkins at half-time proved telling for Thunder, who were 42-35 down heading into the final quarter.

Souths, meanwhile, capitalised on the use of their own tall premier league shooter Imogen McCulloch for the second half and outlasted their opponents.

"It wasn't an easy win. We had to work hard for it," Souths coach Tracey van Dal said.

"We did well to stick with them until half-time. We were just able to use the height to our advantage in the second half and I think our fitness got us through.

"Leah Dove has stepped up from opens and played three-quarters at wing defence and she was great. She really made it hard for Nova midcourt to penetrate the circle edge. She's played a quarter here and there, so to play three quarters against a quality team was a big step up for her but she was more than up for the challenge."

Nova coach Laura Glendenning acknowledged Thunder had plenty of work to do but was encouraged by the performance nonetheless.

"Sally had premier league commitments in Sydney and had to leave at half-time, unfortunately, because she was on fire," Glendenning said.

"The score doesn't reflect the effort from the girls. Everyone kept pushing through. Souths are incredibly disciplined and quick within their midcourt so they make you run all day and we got punished a little bit for that.

"But for our first game, we were really happy to walk away knowing that we had them majority of the game and it was our small mistakes that cost us in the end."

Junction Stella defeated newcomers Waratah Cats 34-31 in another tight tussle.

Waratah, who replaced Inner Glow in the competition this year, led 12-8 at the end of the first quarter and 17-15 at half-time before Junction took a 26-24 advantage into the final period.

Waratah co-coach Dwight Graham described the performance as "a great start for the club".

"Of course everyone is a little bit disappointed we didn't win but there there's some things we can work on so it looks bright for us," Graham said.

"None of the team that played for Waratah today played in that grade last year, so for all of them it was a step up. And to go so close in your first game is fantastic.

"The flow through the court at times was really good. It was probably just our passes under pressure."

Kotara South recorded a comprehensive 63-30 win over BNC Whanau.

The Tigers led at every break and coach Rachel Gardner was pleased to be able to seamlessly interchange players while maintaining the same impact throughout the game.

"BNC have probably got a little bit of an inexperienced line-up but I'm still really pleased given we're very new together," Gardner said.

"I think we were patient and persistent. We got everyone on court so we rotated through quite a few combinations. We just played some smart netball and it was good. Just stayed disciplined and kept getting on with it.

"Everybody did really well. Hannah Purcell at shooter was a standout and Jodi Rheinberger at the back in circle defence. Those two at both ends provided really good direction for us."

West Leagues Balance beat University of Newcastle 42-41. Q1: West led 8-7; Q2: University led 21-20; Q3: University led 32-31.

Junction Stella defeated Waratah Cats 34-31. Q1: Waratah led 12-8; Q2: Waratah led 17-15; Q3: Junction led 26-24.

Souths Lions beat Nova Thunder 58-47. Q1: Nova led 14-12; Q2: Souths led 27-25; Q3: Souths led 42-35.

Kotara South Tigers defeated BNC Whanau 63-30. Q1: Kotara South led 16-7; Q2: Kotara South led 33-17; Q3: Kotara South led 44-22.

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