OVA Mushies wary of COVID-impacted season after opening win

This, Coates said, is due to the likely impact of COVID-19 on the competition as a whole, which he expects to be "very disrupted".

"I don't think there's going to be easy games, just because you don't know who you're going to have available every week," Coates said.

"Until this virus gets totally under control, I think teams are going to be mix-and-match.

"Anything could happen in any week, the way it's looking to me."

Coates estimated that he had to make roughly four changes between Thursday and the morning of Saturday's game due to players falling ill.

This left him particularly uncertain of what to expect against the Moore Creek Mountain Goats, who he knew had recruited well over the off-season.

"We didn't know what to expect other than the bits and pieces we'd heard and seen," Coates said.

"They had a different make-up to last year, and we definitely had a different make-up having lost about 23 players in total across the three grades.

"We were thinking it would be a tough game, and it was."

The Mountain Goats played "very well" in his opinion, and the Mushies worked hard to earn both of their goals in the second half.

Such is the quality of the club's Reserve Grade side that Coates said in 2021 OVA had "almost two First Grade teams".

With so many late replacements, he was pleased to see the quality was still there and that the lower-grade players are capable of stepping up when required.

"The guys who played Reserve Grade last year were of a good standard, and they train together all the time, so they know how to play the positions," he said.

With a clash against Kootingal scheduled for this coming Saturday, Coates said it looks to be an easier game based on results, but with the way the competition is likely to unfold this year, he "just doesn't know" how each match will play out.

In other Premier League results, Tamworth FC defeated the Hillvue Rovers 7-0, while North Companions triumphed 5-0 over Kootingal.

In Reserve Grade, OVA was defeated by Moore Creek 3-2, Tamworth FC downed Hillvue 2-1, and North Companions sunk Kootingal 7-2.

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