When Warners Bay lost superstriker Jen Hoy in pre-season coach Craig Atkins would have been wondering where goals were going to come from this Newcastle Herald Women's Premier League season.
But the Panthers have been scoring plenty and in particular captain Elodie Dagg appears to be shaping as someone to fill the void.
The attacking midfielder improved her season tally to nine goals on Sunday with a four-goal haul in Warners Bay's 5-1 win over New Lambton at Arthur Edden Oval. Only Olympic's Jemma House and Magic's Ash Brodigan have scored more in the league. They both have 10.
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**It was not just Dagg's performance that turned heads at Arthur Edden Oval. Young gun Mia Cook made a memorable WPL first-grade debut when she came off the bench and scored a header.
"She's a 15-year-old and I wanted to give her some time in first grade because she's been performing really well in reserve grade," Atkins said.
"I pushed her out wide just to give her 10 minutes or so to give her a bit of a taste of first grade and she's on for two minutes and scores. She's definitely one to watch."
**Magic coach Jake Curley was singing the praises of goalkeeper Alison Logue after she kept Broadmeadow in the game against Olympic with a series of crucial saves.
But there were some nervous moments before the match on Sunday where Curley did not know if Logue, who works as a fire fighter, would be able to play.
"She sent me a message before the game saying she was fighting a fire and didn't know if she was going to make it by game time," Curley said post-match.
Olympic won the top-of-the-table Herald Women's Premier League clash 1-0 with the game's only goal coming from the penalty spot.
