Souwest Jets endure demoralising start to West Australian Netball League season with heavy losses

The Souwest Jets endured a demoralising start to their open and under-21 West Australian Netball League seasons at Gold Netball Centre on Wednesday night, suffering a pair of heavy defeats to Western Roar.

Coming up against the reigning premiers of both competitions shaped as a difficult early assignment and the gap in quality between the sides was clear to see, with the open side beaten by 62 goals and the juniors going down by 53 goals.

The result of the open game was particularly worrying, with the Jets both conceding their greatest score and coming up with their smallest for a number of seasons.

The Roar took a 27-goal lead into the main break which they grew further with a dominant second half when they piled on another 42 goals while conceding only seven, despite the efforts of Elycce Webb in the centre of the court.

For the Jets, Queensland recruit Maddie Grant scored seven goals, Rylee Hall — one of only three players retained by the club from last season — came up with four and training partner Lily Gilsenan came off the bench to contribute three.

In the under-21s clash, the Jets headed for the first break trailing by 21 goals and things did not improve much from there.

Wing attack Daisy de Morton was the side’s best performer and shooter Lily Knight came up with 20 goals.

On Saturday, the club’s futures side produced a strong performance in their clash with Fremantle Sharks at the Netball Centre, losing by only one goal.

Facing a five-goal deficit early in the final term, the Jets recovered to tie the scores in the final minute but a late Sharks goal saw them secure a 51-50 victory.

The Jets have won one of their four games for the season and own a percentage of 93.69.

The open side will be looking for a more competitive performance in their clash with Southside Demons at the Netball Centre on Wednesday, which will be broadcast live on Streamer.

The under-21 team will host the same opponent at Eaton Recreation Centre on Sunday and the futures team will come up against the Roar at the Netball Centre on Saturday.