Souths clearly announced their championship intentions by achieving a feat no other side could last year in beating University of Newcastle 48-35 at National Park on Saturday.
The much-anticipated clash between two powerhouses of the competition opened the Newcastle championship netball season.
University went through a modified season last year unbeaten to finish on top of the points table with the Lions second.
Souths coach Tracey van Dal said a strong start was imperative on Saturday and that is exactly what the Lions delivered to set up the victory. They led 13-10 at the first break, 28-19 by half-time then 37-29 heading into the final quarter.
"We had a much better first quarter compared to last time we played them," van Dal said.
"We had a three-goal lead at the end of the first quarter as opposed to last time we played them an eight-goal deficit. The first quarter set us up and then each quarter we just pushed on and pushed on and pushed on.
"Lots of the game was scrappy. We turned lots of ball over but didn't convert and that just comes down to still having new combinations and girls that haven't trained with the team that were playing.
"There are definitely things to work on but at the same time it was very pleasing to have a good win like that."
The match was part of round two and was played in stifling conditions. Round one had been washed out one week earlier.
Souths shooters Katelyn Stansfield and Millie Tonkin converted at a high percentage and the circle defence worked hard to limit ball to University's key shooter Sabina Gomboso.
"Katelyn Stansfield did very well controlling the attack end and Danielle Taylor had a nice game in at midcourt as well," van Dal said. "She has a nice steady head as well. In the attack end, they really controlled the game.
"Our defences did really well on Sabina. She's so dominant and does probably 95 per cent of their shooting, so I thought our defences did quite well doubling back on her which forced their goal attack to have to take more shots than what they would normally like to take.
"We focused heavily on that after the first quarter and I think they found it harder to get it in to Sabina, so that was pleasing from a defence point of view."
University coach Traci Baber said there were "no excuses" and Souths "were by far the better team on the day".
"We made way too many mistakes, too many unforced errors," Baber said.
"Souths deserved to win. They hardly missed a goal. Their shooting was exceptional. We did have chances, especially in the first two quarters and we just didn't capitalise on them. If we got a turnover we just literally gave it back to them, so there's lots to work on."
West Leagues Balance beat BNC Whanau 46-31. West led 10-8 at quarter-time, 17-15 at half-time then pulled away with a strong third quarter to be up 31-22 at the last break.
Inner Glow came from behind to seal a 38-35 win over Kotara South. The Tigers led at every change in a tight contest but could not hold on in the final quarter.
Inner Glow coach Dwight Graham felt his team gathered momentum as the game progressed.
"Late in the second quarter we were down by nine and it was starting to look a little bit grim but the girls really pulled through and it was a fantastic effort," Graham said.
"The two shooters hadn't played together before. Tayla Winter and Brooke O'Kane. So it took them a little while to get going. But they really got going in the second half and the third quarter we came from nine down at one point to one at three-quarter time and the shooters just started clicking together.
"But it was quite a team effort. They all showed some real gut and determination. It was a fantastic start and very exciting to come from behind and win."
Kotara South coach Rachel Gardner said her side needed to "treasure the ball more".
"We just need to play a bit smarter. It was there for the taking and we just didn't take it," Gardner said.
Nova Thunder produced a dominant performance to beat Junction Stella 58-21.
The championship now goes into a four-week break before resuming on April 24.
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