Bathurst teams fare well in opening round of Netball NSW Regional League Central West

The Bathurst Indoor Sports Stadium hosted the opening round, with Bathurst fielding two teams in the single division - Bathurst 1 and Bathurst 2.

Dubbo would also field two teams each, while Orange, Forbes, Mudgee and Lithgow would all field one team.

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Bathurst 1 would fall to regional powerhouse Orange in its opening game 30-17, before bouncing back to defeat Lithgow 39-9, Dubbo 2 22-21, Bathurst 2 31-19 and Mudgee 26-15.

Bathurst co-coach Tina Muller said while Bathurst struggled for numbers due to other commitments, both teams performed well.

"We originally had seven girls, a really solid seven [in the 1s]," she said.

"A couple ended up going down for representative commitments with Netball NSW, doing some training down in Sydney. We had another that was a bit sick, so it left us a bit short.

"We had some late registrations and we actually brought one our babies from the 17s - Bronte Cullen-Ward. She really stood up and did an awesome job for us in the shooting position. Her and Lucy Proctor were really good against a really strong Orange defence.

"They went pretty well against all the other associations. We'll definitely be more competitive when we get to the finals.

"We didn't have any subs, so we did quite well actually. We were quite happy with how we went."

Bathurst 2 would also win four of its five games, defeating Mudgee 34-8, Forbes 34-5, Dubbo 1 21-20 and Lithgow 34-8, but losing to Bathurst 1 as previously mentioned.

"They only lost to our Bathurst 1s team. They did really well," Muller said.

"We did take some of the 17s out of that team. They're quite a young team, so a lot of them are bottom age. [Co-coach] Di Coombes and I were quite happy with how the teams went."

Usually split into two divisions, Muller explained that year's competition will be a single-tier competition due a number of teams withdrawing and COVID-19.

"There was a late change. We normally have multiple divisions in regional but with a team withdrawal and with COVID, it takes players out," she said.

"It ended up being the one division. They'll play all their games and when it comes to finals, they split the teams to have a top division and a bottom division."

The next round of matches will be held at the Orange PCYC on Sunday, March 6.

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