INJURIES cost Hamilton Kangaroos with the blue and white falling short of the Blues by nine goals in their Open clash at Melville Oval on Saturday.

The Kangaroos were set to welcome Kellie and Emma Sommerville back into the side, until the latter was injured late in the Division 1 game while filling it, forcing the Open captain to sit out the entire round two clash.

The late change also pushed midcourter, Kellie, into goal defence to start the game with the Kangaroos matching the Blues in the first term and trailing the visitors by just three goals at the first break.

The second term saw the Kangaroos lose their goal keeper, Rhianne Lewis, with a rolled ankle, forcing more positional changes.

An eight-goal deficit at the main break gave the home side a chance to reassess.

A 12-goal third term saw the Kangaroos close the gap and scored the first three goals of the final term to draw within two goals of the Blues, but the visitors held on to record a 49-42 victory at the final whistle.

Kangaroos coach, Nat O’Dea said she was proud of the way the team fought out the round two contest.

“They never gave up, it is always disappointing to lose, but what we have to take out of the game is how strong our squad is,” she said.

“Against quality opposition, we still kept with them and we lost our whole defensive end, but we still had a crack.”

With Emma injuring her leg in the final minute of the Division 1 game, and then Lewis missing the entire second half, it meant Indiana Ryan, Ella Sevior, Kellie Sommerville and Hayley Sherlock all spent time in defence.

The game was played at a fast pace for much of it, and with warm conditions to combat, the Kangaroos were able to adapt to the speed more comfortably than the visitors.

O’Dea said the team would continue to push the pace and intensity in their games going forward.

“We wanted to force errors, it was a hot day and we wanted to play good, fast and hard netball,” she said.

“We wanted to keep up the intensity, and they did that despite all the changes.

“The squad we have got has amplified how strong we are as a unit.

“It could have blown out, heads down, captain was out and then Raz went down.”

Clare Crawford also impressed through the midcourt and in attack, while Kelsey Lewis was a strong target for the home side in goals through the game.

Sevior’s Open debut was also promising with the 17-and-Under player spending the last quarter in goals alongside Kelsey and found the net regularly.

Her inclusion into goals meant Crawford was shifted up the court and O’Dea said she thought the combination worked well.

“Ella was always going to be the impact player, because she was the unknown,” she said.

“Clare’s feeding was just beautiful to those girls.

“Kelsey also talked to her which was important.

“I thought Kels stepped up today, she did a great job.

“She is the quiet achiever and just puts those goals in.”

Despite a second consecutive loss, O’Dea is not stressing though, focusing on the positives from the game.

“I am not too panicked at all, but I would have liked a win,” she said.

“It is all about intensity, and that never dropped.”

The blue and white will be in action next on Anzac Day when the Kangaroos host Portland at Melville Oval.

The team is expecting to welcome back Eve Duckmanton with Rhianne also expected to recover in time for the round three clash, while Emma’s injury will be assessed with a decision to be made on her availability at a later date.