Waratahs player Milly Lucas pushes through the Steamers defence. Picture by Bernard Humphreys

A false start last week was of no concern for Waratahs as they began their premiership defence handing Albury Wodonga a smashing.

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In a 41-5 run over, the Waratahs showed they are a force to be reckoned with again this season.

Coach Mark Macarthur was pleased with what he saw on the field in their first game of the season.

With an influx of new players in the side last week's forfeit from Leeton allowed them an extra week to get prepared to take the field.

"It was a good first hit out for the ladies," Macarthur said.

"We prepared for [last week's] game, but we've got a lot of new players in there, some who haven't played rugby union before, so it gave us a little bit more time to prepare."

Coming into the sport from other football codes and netball, Macarthur said the incoming players are finding their feet in the new game.

With the league expanding the competition to a 12s format this year, more bodies on the field gets more players time in the game.

It was club veteran Milly Lucas who was a standout in the win though.

"Milly has been in the game for quite a while, coming up through juniors, she's had a couple of hits in senior, and been able to get into those rep programs," Macarthur said.

"That experience there, and her ability to pick up her rugby vision, has allowed her to get the team around the field.

"They all had a really good game but a couple of standouts were Vanessa [Harris ] and Janara [Powell], they did really well, some really big upfront defence, some hard ball running.

"We've been concentrating on our tackling and tackle height, and being able to see them transfer that to a game is really good."

Pictures by Bernard Humphreys

Admitting last year's premiership is always in the back of the mind, Macarthur said not transferring pressure onto players is important.

With so many new faces also, he wants to ensure those players are focusing on their game, not outside pressure.

The format also impacts the way the game is played, he said, adding to the changes from their experience in the competition last season.

"It's a completely new format, for me it's more about not just our team, but all the teams, trying to build them up into that 15s format," he said.

"With the numbers we are getting there, it's not going to be an overnight process, just looking forward to players within all the teams get that basic skill level up to compete at a high level."