Striker Mariah Williams is relishing her return to the Hockeyroos after another standout performance in their 3-0 win over Great Britain in Perth.
Having missed 18 months through injury, the NSW ace tormented her opponents on Saturday evening and scored a brilliant goal in the second quarter to take the Pro League game away from the British.
"I missed the competitive side of things," she said of her layoff.
"Rehab is not competitive, so it's great to go out and play well in front of a big home crowd."
Australia sit on top of the table with 11 points from five games, while Great Britain have lost their opening two matches under new coach and former Kookaburra forward Mark Hager.
Australia share the goalkeeping duties each game, with second-stringer Jocelyn Bartram making some key saves in the second half to thwart a British side who had looked dangerous at times.
The Brits dominated the first quarter but Australia took the lead against the run of play in the 15th minute when Penny Squibb took a quick free hit and found Kalindi Commerford in front of goal.
The Hockeyroos upped the pressure and tempo and, after both sides butchered one-on-one chances, the home team doubled their advantage on 24 minutes.
Having had a penalty corner overturned on referral, Australia stole the resulting free hit and Lily Brazel fed Williams who fired home for 2-0.
The Brits pressed hard in the third quarter as the Hockeyroos tired but could not find clean possession in the circle to get a meaningful shot away.
The home team rubbed it in with a late goal to Savannah Fitzpatrick after great lead-up work from defender Kaitlin Nobbs and Rosie Malone.
"New Zealand was our first game. We can be happy with a lot of things we did today but we clearly need to work on the final third of the pitch," said GB captain Hollie Pearne-Webb.
The women's Pro League has a weekly home-and-away format featuring the world's top nine teams.
Australia next host the USA in a fortnight in Sydney while Great Britain play next Saturday in China.
The top four teams will play finals in June in Holland.
Share
