HAMILTON Kangaroos will take on a mid-placed Warrnambool side today in round nine of the Hampden Football Netball League (HFNL) Open netball competition with the hope of securing their first win of the season.

There is no doubt that Hamilton Kangaroos have an incredibly young Open netball side in 2024 and it is a year of development and growth, but the girls will be hoping to be competitive against the Blues away from home.

Warrnambool comes into the game with three consecutive wins and some good form which Hamilton will look to ruin despite a few key players still missing with injury.

Mimi Chun has a foot fracture and will likely miss the season while coach, Emma Sommerville has her sights set on a return in round 11 against Camperdown.

Despite a comfortable 25-goal loss against Koroit last week, the Kangaroos had some good patches which included the third quarter where they outscored the Saints 14-10.

Sommerville said the team played some of its best netball when it focussed on the basics and didn’t overcomplicate things.

“We’re working through so much and there’s information overload a lot of the time … last week I just wanted the girls to really enjoy being out there,” she said.

“When they're out there enjoying the game, they start just implementing what we've been working on.”

Sommerville said she was looking for the side to continue to search for consistency and try and bring their best brand of netball for longer periods.

“The girls are looking forward to the game, we had some really good passages of play last week and we want to just keep building on that,” she said.

“We're losing concentration or our drive during the game which is really hurting us on the scoreboard and letting those teams get on top of us.

“Stringing together four strong 15 minute (quarters) is definitely a focus in shutting down the opposition.”

Sommerville said the younger players had been responding to feedback well and were always looking to improve.

“I'm just looking for the players to be implementing what we're working on or at least attempting it,” she said.

The experience of Clare Crawford and Kellie Sommerville will be crucial to Hamilton’s winning chances today.

While Maddox Ryan has also been in some fine form, being named in the best players the last two weeks.