Golden Square's first win in two years was the highlight of round three of BFNL A-grade netball.
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Golden Square edged out Castlemaine 40-36 in a thriller at the Camp Reserve, snapping a 39-game losing streak.
The Bulldogs went through the 2022 and 2023 seasons without a victory - their previous win came in round 10 of the COVID-shortened 2021 season when they outlasted Kyneton 20-17 in a low-scoring contest.
Golden Square coach Chris O'Sullivan and director of coaching Teigan Redwood were both unavailable for comment about the club's drought-breaking win.
Golden Square's win over Castlemaine and Kangaroo Flat's 60-27 belting of South Bendigo means all eight A-grade teams have at least one win through three rounds.
The Roos put the Bloods to the sword with a dominant 20-3 first quarter.
"Pretty happy to get that first win of the season out of the way,'' Roos' coach Jayden Cowling said.
"We made a great start to the game which set us up and we were able to rest our Bendigo Strikers girls (Ash Ryan and Chelsea Sartori) for the rest of the game.
"I thought our defenders Ingrid Hopkins, Stephen Geene and Ava Lowndes were outstanding today. To keep an A-grade team to 27 goals was a pretty fantastic effort."
Bella Pearce and Bella Pitto stepped up from A-reserve for the Roos.
"Bella Pitto is a good story,'' Cowling said.
"She first started with us in under-17s years ago and has come through B-reserve and B-grade and then she stepped up to A-reserve last year.
"It was special for her to get a crack at A-grade."
With games to come in the next three weeks against Golden Square, Castlemaine and Eaglehawk, the Roos get the chance to build some momentum.
"After having the bye last week and losing round one, it really feels as though we kicked off our season today,'' Cowling admitted.
"It will be nice to get a good run of games now before we have another bye."
Strathfieldsaye won its second game on the trot and in doing so moved to the top of the BFNL ladder.
A final quarter surge lifted the Storm to a 33-27 win over Eaglehawk.
"We're on top of the ladder in every grade, so it was a bit of fun for us to enjoy that for a minute,'' a chuffed Storm coach Steph Freemantle said.
"It's a good feeling."
Freemantle admitted the Storm weren't at their best, but she was pleased with the resilience her group showed to produce a big final quarter.
"Eaglehawk were great, their pressure was excellent,'' Freemantle said.
"They rattled us at the start and were behind the whole day. It was a good moment for us to be behind all day and to come home hard and get a win.
"At three quarter-time I said to the girls we needed to change what we were doing and they went out and did what I asked.
"We ended up being successful, which was nice."
