What a great first match for Puma! It was lovely to see that the connections were still there after the mini break.

The first quarter saw the girls take a commanding 15–8 lead — they went out with real intent. Laurel Park came back at us through the middle two quarters, but we were still ahead going into the final quarter by 9 goals, 37–28. The girls then finished strongly, winning the final quarter 14–7 to secure a fantastic 51–35 victory! ?

There were lots of highlights for me:

• The great two-handed interceptions from Millie on Laurel Park’s centre pass.
• The way our shooters stood up to the physicality of Laurel Park’s circle defence and adapted brilliantly to whoever was defending them. Under such pressure, it was fantastic to see such good shooting accuracy.
• Zoning — it worked,great calling!
• Our circle defence restricted the movement of Laurel Park’s shooters. You listened, you applied it, and you delivered.
• The general through-court skill level on display, especially for the start of the season. There were some lovely passages of play and some really positive connections across the court.

Well done, all! A fantastic team performance and a brilliant way to start.

Finally congratulations to Millie and Izzy for being awarded OPOM, and to Millie for CPOM.