The Maitland Magpies are likely to be without young gun Mercedes McNabb and star defender Maddie Gallegos for Sunday's away clash against competition heavyweights Newcastle Olympic.
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The Magpies made a flying start to 2022 with a 4-0 win against Mid Coast at Taree, while Olympic, who finished second last season behind premiers Broadmeadow Magic, will be smarting after a 4-1 loss to Charlestown Azzurri.
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"At this stage Mercedes is in question, Maddie is still out, but everyone else is looking sharp," Magpies coach David Walker said.
McNabb and Gallegos should be available for the following week which will be a huge boost as the Magpies have a short turnaround from Sunday with a Friday night match against Broadmeadow at Magic Park to follow.
The Magpies are also facing some problems with COVID, with three players unavailable for selection on the weekend because they have tested positive or are a close contact.
Walker said the situation was contained but COVID would be an ongoing issue for all clubs throughout the season, with players not being available while in isolation but it also took time for them to recover.
"We got two girls back for round one but both girls were only capable of playing 10 to 15 minutes," he said.
"You are not just losing players for a week, they are missing full match fitness for a couple of weeks after."
On Sunday, Maitland's front-third stars stood up. Young gun Bronte Peel, inspirational skipper Sophie Stapleford and star signing Sophie Jones all scored in the first half and Lisa Cochrane completed the job with a late goal in the second half.
"Four goals from four different people again is a bit of depth that we are not just relying on one player," Walker said.
"It (the performance) reflected what we have talked about possession, fast ball movement and dominant attack and for the most part that was exactly what we did.
"It was a good step for us to kick the season off with a positive and keep that momentum going and keep building our form."
Kick off at Darling Street Oval on Sunday is at 3.40pm
