St Pat's have tough away assignment against Orange Ex-Services to start women's Premier League Hockey season

That's how St Pat's coach Ben Weal sees this Saturday's women's Premier League Hockey clash against hosts Orange Ex-Services.

Pat's have lost a couple of players going into the opening round fixture, like other teams in the competition, but welcome back some familiar faces and have kept their young pool of rising talent.

They've made good headway over the past few weeks at training but only match time will truly tell Weal how his team is faring.

"We started training before COVID but then had that big break. We got back into training after what's felt like the world's longest pre-season and everyone's excited about the chance to play some hockey," he said.

"I think we still feel under prepared but everyone will be in the same boat because we've all been unable to train until recently."

Assessing expectations for an opening round sporting game in 2020 is tough.

St Pat's had geared themselves up for a much earlier start but after several months of delays due to coronavirus it's hard to bounce back for another round of preparation.

Weal just wants to see the team apply their lessons from their limited training opportunities, and that's all can ask for.

"Obviously every game you hope to get the win, but we haven't had the trial games you normally get before the season. There's no expectations, it's about just seeing what happens," he said.

"Our first game is an away game in Orange, which is tough because you'd normally like to get a few home games in before you have to travel but that's not how it worked out for us."

Orange Ex-Services have made strides over the past few season to be a force in the competition.

The two clubs produce one of the games of the season in 2019 when St Pat's held off a strong Ex Services attack for a 3-2 win in their August meeting.

"They'll test us out for sure and that's a good thing because you want to be tested. After Saturday we'll have a good idea of where we're at," Weal said.

"We'll have an idea of what improvements we need to make.

"We're bringing in a similar side to last year. We've had a few players move on but we have a couple of older heads back, which helps.

"We have Esther Hotham back for us, which is great. The core of the side is the same from previous years and that continuity is great for us."

The Orange Ex-Services and St Pat's clash gets underway from 1.55pm at Orange Hockey Complex.