Lily McKimmie stars in Wodonga's first A-grade win of the season

Coming into the clash, both sides were winless after five rounds and it was the Hawks who opened up a four-goal lead before going into half-time 28-27 up.

But the Bulldogs stormed back in the third quarter, turning the game on its head to lead by seven goals at the final break after Rovers had seen coach Gracie Reid carried off with an ankle injury.

The home side were always in control after that and there was a huge sense of relief from those in maroon to close out a 61-50 victory.

"That feels very good," Wodonga coach Bianca Mann said.

"I'm really proud of the girls, they fought really hard.

"We didn't have it all our way, it wasn't a perfect game from us but the way we kept fighting and kept getting around each other and kept going and going again, those repeat efforts really worked for us."

Lisa French was on top of her game for the Bulldogs, shooting 37 goals from 40 attempts, while Cassi Mathey capped a fine performance in goal-attack with 24 from 26.

But it was a half-time tweak at the opposite end of the court which started to swing momentum back Wodonga's way.

"We needed to win a little bit more defensively so we brought on one of our 17s," Mann explained.

"Lily McKimmie came on at GD just to give us something different.

"She's young, she's got no fear and she came out and had a really good game.

"She won a lot of ball for us in that third quarter and gave them something different to think about in goals.

ALSO IN SPORT:

"It's the first time we've had the opportunity to use the young players this year.

"We'd love to get them out there more; we've got a few in the 17s here that could do a great job for us in A-grade so we'll certainly be hoping to use them more often as the year goes on."

Amid a fine team effort, Mann highlighted the efforts of two other Bulldogs.

"Cassi Mathey really stood strong," she said.

"GA is a new position for her and she did a fantastic job, striving hard, creating space and shooting accurately.

"Madi Nation, our wing-attack, was on fire, working the ball in, really good feeds in the circle and giving our shooters every chance."

Christine Oguche shot 41 goals as Lavington won 50-46 away to Wangaratta, where Tayla Furborough, Steph Clancy and Liv Sanson were all outstanding.

Wodonga Raiders scrapped to a 48-44 win over Albury, with Blaynee House and Maggie St John impressive for Jodie House's side while Lilli Howe shone with 30 goals for the Tigers.

Myrtleford are up to second on the ladder after they proved too strong for North Albury, winning 42-27 at Bunton Park.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: