Report by Clare Cox

THE North West Kent Netball League (NWK) kicked off with the pretenders to the throne waiting for top teams to slip up.

With all the top division one sides fielding squads in the new Premier and Regional Leagues, pressure is on the players to produce consistent top-flight netball across all levels.

Any slip-up and any of the teams in the 11 NWK divisions are ready to step in.

However, those pretenders may have to wait for their chance as reigning champions Wealden1 opened their campaign with an 83-45 victory over Wealden2.

Wealden Netball Club coach Hazel Strudwick said: "We are really looking forward to defending our title.

"It will be a challenging year as we are also playing in the National Premier League as well as the Regional League.

"The club has attracted new players to take on this exciting challenge and new players are always welcome."

Kent Club1 (KCNC1) want to win back the NWK crown they lost to Wealden1 last year and made their intentions known by winning the Beginning of Season Rally.

The club's second team, KCNC 2, stole second spot from Tonbridge by a single point demonstrating the club's strength in depth.

Rally organiser Nicky Cronin said: "There were a large number of teams entered this year, far more than in previous years and the sun shone down on us.

"The standard of netball was really good, giving teams an opportunity to blow out their cobwebs before the start of the season."

Leo Bacchus of Kent Club was pleased with the club's performances.

She said: "It was a good start to the beginning of the season with the first and second team becoming winners and runners up respectively."

Both Kent teams took victories in the first NWK round games - KCNC1 beat newly-promoted Haimo1 63-35 and KCNC2 beat Vibrant 48-43, giving the club the double victory they were looking for to underline their quest this season.