The Grasshoppers kicked the first two goals of the match before the visitors responded with a goal of their own.

Both teams added one more goal to their tally, as the home team took a six point lead into the first break.

Navarre continued to create chances in front of goal in the second term, kicking three of the first four goals to extend its lead.

After Trentham kicked a goal at the 11 minute mark of the second term, the Grasshoppers got the momentum back and kicked three consecutive goals to go into half time with a five goal margin.

It took less than two minutes for the home team to kick the first goal of the third term so add to the scoreboard pressure the Saints had to deal with.

The Saints hit back with three of the next four with Mark Strickland kicking two of them to give his team a sniff of an upset win going into three quarter time. 

It was Trentham who kicked the first goal of the final term to reduce the margin to four goals and help his team believe it was a chance but two quick goals to Tim Notting and Ash Driscoll put the match beyond doubt.

Cody Driscoll kicked the Grasshoppers’ final two goals of the game to give Navarre a 16.8.104 to 10.7.67 victory to start the 2017 season.

Tim Notting finished the match as leading goalkicker for the Grasshoppers with five while Daniel Parkin was named the home team’s best player.

The win leaves Navarre in fifth position on the ladder after the first match.

Navarre coach Jayden Fowkes said it was a tough match first up for the Grasshoppers.

“It was not an easy win, they were definitely stronger than they were last year,” he said.

Fowkes said the team settled into the match as the game went on and saw improvement in the players.

“After the first quarter, we blew the cobwebs out,” he said.

“They were strong and real hungry for the football and just kept laying tackle after tackle.”

Navarre had nine different goalkickers in the match and Fowkes said that was an important aspect to the win.

“You always want to share the load otherwise they will lock down on the key forward,” he said.

“We will just work on our fitness a bit more over the next few weeks to improve that but was good to start with a win.”

The reigning premiers made it through the season opener unscathed with no injuries or reports from the match.

The Grasshoppers will face Harcourt in their round two match.

Goal Kickers: T. Notting 5, C. Driscoll 4, L. Hannett, B. Scott, L. Slorach, W. Clough, S. Kaye, A. Driscoll, J. Fowkes

Best Players: D. Parkin, L. Hannett, J. Fowkes, S. Kaye, T. Notting, J. Birthisel