Gisborne defence shines in 24-goal win against South Bendigo

The reigning premiers - led brilliantly in defence by co-captain Kirby Elliott, dual league medallist Maddy Stewart and Charlee Kemp - smoothly advanced to 2-0 with a 61-37 victory.

The result was never in doubt after the Bulldogs cruised to a 20-6 lead at quarter time, on the back of some excellent pressure all over the court and plenty of accurate goal shooting from Torie Skrijel and Claudia Mawson.

But to their credit, the Bloods regrouped to produce a spirited last three quarters, earning the praise of their playing coach Alicia McGlashan.

The round four clash was Gisborne's first A-grade game since round two on April 20, when the Bulldogs defeated fellow powerhouse Sandhurst by four goals.

The Bulldogs had byes in rounds one and three.

Given the stop-start nature of their season, premiership coach Tarryn Rymer was pleased to emerge with a handy win, but acknowledged there were still areas of their game the Bulldogs needed to work on.

"Our first quarter was good, but probably after that we dropped off a little bit. We were a little bit messy in our transition," she said.

"We still won lots of ball, but defensively South were quite strong.

"There was probably a bit more of an opportunity to put some scoreboard pressure on; we were 16 up at quarter time and only extended that lead to 24.

"Our second halves are something we have to work on.

"But it was nice to get a few of our younger girls out there on court. They played their roles really well."

Those youngsters included two of the stars of last season's 17-and-under premiership win - Dasha Taylor, who made her A-grade debut and spent the middle two quarters at wing attack, and Bella Connors, who replaced Mawson in goals in the final quarter, and finished with seven goals from nine attempts.

With Mawson expected to either miss or be rested in forthcoming games following her selection this week in the inaugural Melbourne Vixens squad for the pilot Super Netball Reserves competition, to be played throughout June, Connors and Rylee Connell will be among those called on to fill the breach in goals over the next month or so.

As much as she will be missed, Rymer said everyone at Gisborne was rapt to see their star goal attack handed such a big opportunity.

"It's so exciting. I couldn't think of anyone more deserving to be in that squad," she said.

"She is just so beautiful to watch on court and her work rate in everything she does off and on the court is amazing. It's great to see her in this pathway.

"We'll miss her when she is not here, but it's still a bit of an unknown as to what that looks like.

"We have started to prepare though by putting Torie out into goal attack a bit and looking at some other options in goals."

While there will be a need for adjustments in attack, there will be no tinkering in defence, where the Bulldogs have been outstanding in their two encounters this season.

In a tough choice, Elliott earned the nod as best on court, continuing on from her strong effort against the Dragons in round two.

As another big test against Sandhurst looms next weekend for the Bloods, coach McGlashan said she could not have been happier about her players' response in the final three quarters, following a poor first term.

"We had a good chat at quarter time, settled and talked about what we needed to change, and to their credit the girls came out firing," she said.

"The second, third and fourth quarters were fantastic from my perspective; very hard-fought and reasonably even.

"The girls had some beautiful passages of play and our defensive unit came together really well."

Despite their 1-3 win-loss record, McGlashan has taken plenty of positives out of the first four games, particularly given the number of fresh, and in the case of midcourter Ella Flavell, returning faces in the side.

The Bloods introduced two more newcomers on Saturday, with Kira Baldwin prominent at wing defence and Amber Hollis combining well with Olivia Mason in goals after quarter time.

"We're still playing around with lots of combos. It was great to see Amber and Kira step into the team today and see them step up and take on the challenge," she said.

"For her first A-grade game, Amber didn't get rattled at all and she really took on the feedback and teamed well with Liv.

"Gisborne has a great defence, so I was proud of our attack end for persevering and being patient with their passes and movement.

"If we can play the same way we did in those last three quarters, we will go from strength-to-strength and build on that.

"I'm excited to see what this young group of girls can do from here.

"Overall, I couldn't have been prouder of them."

Among the Bloods' best contributors were their experienced trio of defender Steph Goode, midcourter Chloe Gray and goaler Mason.

The Bulldogs' fast start was their second this season.

They led Sandhurst 16-8 at quarter time and 30-16 at half time in round two.

On Saturday, they led the Bloods 35-16 at half time.