After a winless 2025, Longwood certainly made the most of the new beginning, putting a win on the board at the very first opportunity, defeating Undera to end a winless drought stretching back to August 2024.
The 43-22 victory at Longwood Recreation Reserve was 602 days in the making, while also propelling the Redlegs into the top four at the end of the round.
It is sweet reward for effort following a tough period at the club.
The hunt for back-to-back wins looks promising, too, with the Redlegs facing Murchison-Toolamba next week in a very winnable game. Longwood last achieved consecutive wins in rounds two and three of the 2022 season.
In other A-grade KDL news, Shepparton East has continued its winning ways with a first-up victory, following a dream undefeated premiership season last year.
But it wasn’t exactly in the totally dominant fashion the league has become accustomed to seeing in recent times from the Eagles, with a determined Tallygaroopna forcing the issue all the way until the final siren at Central Park Recreation Reserve.
The class of the Eagles prevailed when needed, though, ensuring their premiership defence got off to a positive start with a 38-31 victory, a win which coach Kate Durling was more than pleased to walk away with.
“It was really tight-fought match, actually, and Tally have improved a lot since last year,” she said.
“It was our first hit-out as a new group, with two players in Olivia Keady and Hannah Doyle coming up from B-grade, and they slotted in really nicely for their first hit-out in A-grade. So, yeah, look, I’m just happy to take the win.”
The two A-grade debutants were replacing Leticia Robertson and Kara Pattison, both of whom will miss the 2026 season due to pregnancy, leading to a slightly new line-up for the Eagles.
It is perhaps what enthuses Durling the most about the win, which her side was able to grind out while knowing there is still plenty of improvement to come as they continue to build the on-court experience together.
“We’re still learning the new combinations and adapting really well,” she said.
“There's lots to improve to take from yesterday's game and we’ll build and work on that at training, so I’m happy with the win first round, that’s for sure.”
Even more encouraging was the fact that Keady was named the Eagles’ best in the victory for her stopping job on a Redlegs superstar, with the club’s reigning B-grade best-and-fairest and grand final best-on-court medallist not once looking out of place.
“(Keady) stood up really well against Tally’s new recruit, Tam Skinner,” Durling said.
“She had a big task ahead of her and I think she played really well, so she got our standout best-on.
“We also had a milestone yesterday, so our second went to Rachael Bell, who played her 100th senior game, too.”
The Eagles will look to continue their winning streak, which now stands at 18 games stretching back to the 2024 preliminary final, when they face Lancaster in round two in what shapes as another big early season test.
“I think, for us, we’ve looked to ‘Lanky’ second round and know that this is going to be a big challenge for us. They’ve recruited well in the off-season,” Durling said.
“We’re just going to work on our strategies, our structures and keep building into the year.
“Whatever happens next week, it’s all a learning curve and what we can work on building towards the end of the year and it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
In other Saturday match-ups, Nagambie comfortably accounted for Violet Town with a 54-24 victory and Merrigum belted Murchison-Toolamba 60-18.
Sunday afternoon action saw Giragrre and Lancaster face off, with Lancaster winning 54-28, while Rushworth was too good for Stanhope, claiming a 49-22 victory.
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