Maitland coach Keelan Hamilton has described their round-one clash with Broadmeadow Magic at Cooks Square Park on Sunday as "a massive test".
The Magpies are one of two new clubs in the Herald Women's Premier League. They have taken on Thornton's WPL licence and Charlestown Azzurri have replaced Merewether.
Azzurri's opening-round match with Mid Coast has been postponed.
The 2021 season opens on Saturday with defending champions and premiers Newcastle Olympic hosting Warners Bay in a grand final rematch at Darling Street Oval at 2pm.
Olympic beat the Panthers 3-2 in last year's decider. Two key players from that match will not be in action on Saturday.
Jemma House, last year's leading scorer and player of the year, is not available for Olympic until her W-League commitments with the Newcastle Jets finish and Hoy is not playing again for Warners Bay.
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New Lambton play Adamstown at No.2 Sportsground at 3.40pm in the other game on Saturday before the league get their first look at newcomers Maitland against widely regarded premiership favourites Broadmeadow.
"They've recruited quite well and quite heavily and built on what was already a strong side last year," Hamilton said.
"We've really excited for the clash and we know it's going to be a difficult match, but at the same time we're confident of being a real active participant in the game."
Magic finished second on the points table in their first WPL campaign last year but fell one game short of making the grand final. Depth proved an issue but coach Jake Curley has bolstered his squad in the off-season with some big-name players and plenty of quality.
They include goalkeeper Alison Logue, centre-back Kirstyn Antoni and striker Ash Brodigan, who all have W-League experience.
"They've got experience and they've got individual quality, so they're a big threat," Hamilton said. "They've also had 12 months together under the Broadmeadow banner, so they'll be more comfortable in that environment.
"From our point of view the pressure is definitely all on them to come and win the match but we're confident from our side in making that difficult for them."
Hamilton, who coached New Lambton to the premiership-championship double in 2019, has put together a squad that is a mix of youth and experience.
"We're got all of our squad available and I've got a headache in picking a starting 11, which is a really nice position to be in," Hamilton said.
Magic will be without midfielder Nadja Squires and wide player Erin Wilson due to injury. Lucy Jerram is nursing a hamstring complaint and will be given until game-day to prove her fitness.
Curley expected the biggest hurdle this year could be carrying the favourites tag and was wary of the relatively unknown Magpies side.
"I spoke to our girls this week saying obviously there was an expectation for us so you've got to lift every game because every team will lift against us," Curley said.
"I've heard Keelan is a good coach, so I expect they will be organised. I like Sophie Stapleford as a player. I think she's terrific. And some of the younger Thornton girls who played reserve grade and first grade last year were really good too."
The Maitland-Magic game is at 5pm on Sunday.
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