Returning players to bolster Souths lineup in game against Orange Ex Services

The two blues play host to Orange Ex Services this Saturday at Cooke Hockey Complex chasing more of the top-notch defence which earned them the recent 1-0 result in their favour.

That same scoreline was the one Exies finished with in their opening round game, except they were on the wrong side of it when the full-time whistle sounded to end the contest with CYMS.

With that in mind Souths coach Chris Stafford expects Orange to be fired up on their return from the Easter break.

"They're always a really handy side. They've obviously lost a few players over the past few years, especially when CYMS came back into it, but it's hard to get a read on anything at the moment," he said.

"We haven't had the chance to see either CYMS or Ex Services. We played them at the gala day but you can never read too much into that."

There's a stack of returning talent in this Saturday's Souths lineup.

"We've got a few things we're trying to work on so we'll try and work on that and treat this like a whole new start to the season," Stafford said.

"There's a few players coming back in so things will change up a little bit.

"Mandy George is in, so is Sophie Macauley. Charlize Fitzpatrick is in for her first game after being away with the under 15s state side. It's great having them back in the team."

Sam Porter's goal with less than 10 minutes on the clock proved the difference in Souths' win over City.

The win means more than just a shot of confidence for Souths.

That result ended a nine-game losing streak to City dating back just shy of five years.

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Coming away with the win was a big reward for Souths who had spent the bulk of the match fending off wave after wave of City attack.

Souths' defensive unit, with the likes of Daisy Morrissey, Tahni Isedale, Meg Booth and goalkeeper Kate Brown, were outstanding.

Now Stafford hopes there's more offensive power on display from his side in the meeting with Exies.

"Our defence was very strong against City. They peppered us the whole game," he said.

"Because we were missing a few players we didn't have much experience up front, so we had to rely heavily on our defence.

"We'll continue to work on our systems out of defence and see what comes up front once we get it up there."

Souths will look for a positive showing considering they have Lithgow Panthers awaiting them in the following round.

Saturday's match gets underway from 3.15pm.