Fusion Heat are looking to get back to the top of Dubbo's A Grade Netball competition

Having dominated much of the last six or so seasons, the Heat were defeated in last year's grand final by Narromine Hawks.

But with the Hawks moving down the grades, the Heat is firmly the competition favourites and have been on fire this season, including on the weekend against Fusion Sparx.

After a slow start, the Heat ran away with the match in the second half, winning 53-27 but coach Tash Robinson admitted it took a bit of time for the squad to get into the match.

"It turned out in our favour in the end, the Sparx definitely gave it to us in the first quarter," she said.

"They led 6-10 and we had one of the slower starts that we've ever had.

"It was a bit touch and go there for a bit but I'm really happy that the girls were able to pull away and get the win."

In their first meeting of the season, the Sparx were impressive, especially after only moving into A Grade during the week but Robinson believes they can be more than competitive.

"We had re-grading last week, they moved up from B Grade I believe," she said.

"They were doing really well in there and needed a little bit more competition so they came up to A Grade.

"I think they will do really well, I know it was probably a little bit nerve-racking for them, they are quite a young team but just watching them on the weekend I think they will do a lot better than they think they will."

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Players have come and gone for the Heat over previous seasons, however, this season all of the group is back and they are eager to take out the title.

"We do, I don't think we lost anyone this year," Robinson said.

"We were lucky enough to have a lot of the girls come back.

"We've picked up an extra this year with Alirah Watton, she's come across to play for us and I think it's been really good for her to come across and be part of our defensive end.

"She's a really talented netballer."

Eight teams are contesting the A Grade competition this season and five of those are from the Fusion club.

While they might not have been around for as long as a club like Saints, Robinson had a smile on her face when looking on during Saturday's action.

"How exciting to see, I was on duty on the weekend and from the morning to afternoon games there were a lot of Fusion teams across the age groups and grades," she said.

"It's really exciting to see, it's such a good and supporting club. I love seeing the pink and blue dresses."

Narromine's departure has robbed the Heat of a grand final rematch, something they were eager for this season.

However, the emergence of teams like MAGS Hornets and Trangie Fire has Robinson expecting tough competition.

"I haven't seen a lot of the other teams I'll be honest but just from speaking to some of the other girls and checking the scores it does look like there has been a lot of improvement which is really exciting for the competition," she said.

"I've seen a few new faces walking around in different uniforms."

Meanwhile, the Hornets defeated Trangie 54-43 in their match on Saturday while St Groovers and Fusion Mixtures also enjoyed wins.

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