A miserly defensive effort led by comeback queen Emma Cust set up Warrnambool's hard-fought seven-goal win over Port Fairy at Reid Oval.
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Cust missed the 2018 Hampden league campaign after giving birth to her second child before a neck complaint ruled out any chance of pre-season training this year.
But none of that seemed to affect her on court as she teamed up with Jenna Graham in an enthralling duel against Port Fairy goalies Laura Addinsall (22) and Chelsea McMahon (11) that played a key role in the 40-33 victory.
"Her shut-down of the ball into the ring, intercepts and rebounds were just fantastic," Blues coach Raewyn Poumako said of Cust.
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That wasn't the only show in town though.
At the other end Warrnambool's Amy Wormald (26 goals) and Port Fairy's Carly Watson, two of the league's most dominant players, duked it out for three quarters until the Blues' goal-shooter Danielle Keilar (10) had to pull out with an asthma complaint and was replaced by 17-year-old Jess Thwaites.
This saw Thwaites take on Watson while Wormald found herself at goal-shooter. But her impact upon game continued unabated.
"Amy was always a great target - she can pull in really difficult balls because she's so athletic," Poumako said.
"And Jess did a great job on Carly. She was really strong to the ball, made good decisions and saw the space well."
The two sides were deadlocked at half-time and would find themselves at 26-all in the third quarter before Warrnambool went on a five-goal run that would establish the win.
Poumako said the key to breaking the game open was the fact her side eventually managed to place a higher value on each possession and capitalised on the defensive intercepts made by Cust and Graham.
Port Fairy coach Rhiannon Cuomo said despite being frustrated by Warrnambool's third-quarter blitz, she was pleased with her side's improvement on recent weeks.
"It was an absolute step up," she said.
"They were a lot stronger, the ball movement was great and our goalies were fantastic."
Cuomo said Nicole Dwyer was best for the Seagulls.
"She was there at every centre pass, fed beautifully and her timing was really on."
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