The Bathurst hockey talent and former Lithgow Panthers player finally got to wear Pride colours on Thursday night against Melbourne Hockey Club in the opening round of the 2022 season.

Though hosts Melbourne emerged as 5-3 victors, it was an experience Kable will not soon forget.

The St Pat's Hockey Club star had been waiting since 2019 to make that debut.

"My first year in senior rep was with Pride, I was really unlucky not to debut in 2019. I actually went to Perth and I didn't play, then COVID hit," she explained.

"I've been training and trialling for Pride for the past three years but hadn't been able to play.

"It felt weird, I'm definitely not one of the younger girls, I'm old enough that I should've played before kind of thing. It felt like I'd been in the squad for years, so to finally play was awesome.

"I actually don't think I realised how amazing it was until we got to Melbourne Hockey Centre - there was over 1,000 people there.

"The line-up of people to get in there, all the kids watching us, it was just incredible. The atmosphere, I've never had anything like it, it was bloody awesome, it was incredible."

Before arriving at Melbourne Sports Centre and soaking in the atmosphere, there were some tense hours for Kable and her Pride team-mates.

"I was so nervous. We'd had a bit of a mix up all day, things did not go our way, our buses were late, our flight got delayed then we got stuck in peak hour traffic in Melbourne, so we got to the fields late," Kable said.

"It didn't really hit me until we walked in, but I was so nervous, I was over thinking things too much. But as soon as I got out on the pitch it all went, it was brilliant."

What helped ease some of Kable's nerves was having familiar faces around her.

NSW Pride coach, Orange's Pete Shea, had worked with her in the state 21s squad, her former Lithgow Panthers team-mate Abby Wilson was in the line-up, as was fellow Bathurst player Tamsin Bunt.

Thursday's match was also Bunt's debut for Pride.

"It was really good to have Tam there, a bit of cool head. She has so much knowledge of the game and she steps out there and has so much poise," Kable said.

While Kable's versatility had Shea considering a number of different roles for her, she ended up being deployed in the midfield.

To her delight she got plenty of game time.

"Leading up the the tournament I had no idea where I was going to play. I was told I was going to play in a few different positions, but on the day I ended up playing an attacking midfielder," she said.

"I was playing 10 minutes out of a 15 minute quarter which was really good for a debut. Like you usually sit pretty much on the bench until someone needs a rest.

"So it was awesome to play normal minutes."

As for the game itself, it certainly had a big momentum shift in the third quarter.

Given their Australian duties, Pride goalkeeper Jocelyn Bartram plus strikers Grace Stewart and Mariah Williams hadn't trained with the rest of the squad prior to the season opener.

It meant Stewart and Williams were unsure what press the side was playing and as such, it did take time for the Pride players to adjust.

In contrast Melbourne clicked and had shot out to a 5-0 lead by early in the third quarter.

They scored off a pair of field goals which, under Hockey One rules, then entitled them to a one-on-one. Melbourne converted both of those and added another goal from a penalty corner.

But Kable and her team-mates then launched a comeback to be in reach at 5-3 at the 43 minute mark after Parkes native Williams found the mark.

Though Pride was unable to get any closer than that in the final quarter, Kable said the NSW playing group took plenty of positives for how they finished the contest.

"We came out well in the second half which was really good to see because usually with a New South Wales team, when we're down we're down and not coming back," she said.

"It was really good to see we fought back, we hit the post three times and hit the goalkeeper's helmet twice in the second half. It was absolutely crazy.

"We definitely had some brilliant opportunities, it was great to win that second half. It was great to see how much we could change and improve in a half of hockey which is only 30 minutes, it's a real positive for us."

The next match for Kable and Bunt will come on October 14 against Adelaide Fire in South Australia.

But the match the duo are most looking forward to will be on November 12. That's when Pride hosts Canberra Chill in Parkes.

"I think we're all looking forward to the Parkes game, I think that will be our biggest game, I've heard that it's going to sell out," Kable said.

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