Round one was a showcase of narrow defeats with both teams losing by less than five points.

While it definitely wasn't the start to the season the Blaze had been hoping for, they moved into the second round quietly confident and supremely determined to turn up the heat.

Opens

In the Opens division, the Blaze opened the game with a strong defensive showcase keeping the Panthers scoreless for the first four minutes of the game.

The Blaze took an early 4-0 lead until Penrith found their own offensive rhythm, from that moment forward the two teams scored goal for goal in the first.

Centre Katelyn Anderson had a magnificent intercept near the end of the first quarter which aided the Blaze in scoring three quick goals to lead 14-8 at the end of the opening quarter.

The second quarter saw both teams quickly put points on the board scoring in the first 30 seconds.

The Blaze continued their strong play on both ends of the court, maintaining their lead as they headed towards halftime.

At the half the Blaze led Penrith 32-24.

Both teams came into the second half sluggish with a lack of early scoring opportunities.

Penrith capitalised on the slow-down and picked up the pace on points, closing the margin to the Blaze to just four points.

However, a few strong late possessions and errors by the Panthers gave the Blaze enough room to extend the buffer back to eight, 43-35 heading into the final quarter of play.

The Panthers fired into attack in the last stanza of play with a consistent attack cutting the Blaze lead to two points.

It was neck and neck for the rest of the quarter with the Blaze able to do just enough to maintain the lead.

The Blaze closed out the Panthers with a four point win, securing the victory 57-53.

Under 23s

The U23s donned black arm bands to mourn the loss of Ana Afoa's grandfather who sadly passed away last week.

Paying tribute added to the motivation for the line-up who entered play with a quiet determination.

Both teams came out firing, it was neck and neck before a mistake by Penrith allowed the Blaze to take their first lead in the eighth minute.

The shooting combination of GA Mia Evans and GS Papi Alaalatoa helped the Blaze find a good rhythm propelling them to a ten point lead as they closed out the first quarter.

The Blaze entered the second quarter with some new substitutions as GA Manaia Mete and WA Lindsey Tui joined the game,

They moved quickly carrying on the momentum of the first scoring in the first 15 seconds of the quarter, which fed directly into a four point shooting streak, increasing the Blazes lead to 14 points.

A stifling Blaze defense made it impossible for Penrith to respond, as they continued to push their lead to 19 heading into the break.

At halftime the Blaze led Penrith 36 - 17.

While the Panthers were the first to score in the third, the Blaze were full speed ahead with no signs of slowing down, still reeling from their two goal loss in the previous round.

The Blazers dominated the third and continued to push on their big lead increasing the margin to 26 points heading into the final quarter of play.

The fourth quarter was more of the same as it was pure Blaze domination.

They finished out the game in quality fashion. The strong combination of GA Manaia Mete and GS Papi Alaalatoa were too tough for Penrith to contain, working the goal circle expertly.

The Blaze continued their earlier domination and executed the win in flawless fashion, finishing with a 36-point lead 70-34.