THE NBL1 West Women’s competition began for season 2026 on Wednesday night, with Chloe Forster leading her side to victory as the Warwick Senators defeated the Perry Lakes Hawks by 13 points in the opener for the fixture.

The Senators got a huge boost over the offseason when they retained 2026 WNBL champion Forster to the roster, with the 22-year-old getting the job done with the Townsville Fire recently. She was given the captaincy and was set to be a star for a Warwick side that is looking to go all the way out west in the coming months.

The team’s performance at Warwick Stadium on Wednesday night was certainly promising when it comes to achieving that goal. The Senators blew the game open in the second frame to jump out to a 14-point lead at the main change and although the Hawks managed to break even in the second half (an impressive feat given the personnel they lost over the offseason), it was not enough as the hosts managed a 13-point win.

Forster was immense in getting the result for her side, and showed that she will be one of the more influential and productive players in the coming months if she can keep this sort of form up for the remainder of the season.

Warwick Senators (80) def. Perry Lakes Hawks (67)

Chloe Forster – 31 points, eight rebounds, four assists, seven steals, one block

It could not have been a more emphatic performance from the Senators’ star, who showed she can be not only a matchwinner, but also the focal point of the team’s offence, as well as a healthy contributor on the defensive end.

Forster wasted no time in getting her season underway, opening the scoring for the match with a nice floater on the first possession of the game. Although she had a quiet patch, she returned to the scoring action with a pair of strong finishes inside, still having an impact in the opening frame despite not finding her range from deep.

She opened the second frame with a nice steal and layup in transition, a feat she repeated a couple of minutes later as her Senators really took control of the match. Forster also finally found her groove from three-point territory, knocking down a pair of three-pointers and dropping a total of 14 points in the term in what was a defining individual patch of play.

The Senators captain picked up exactly where she left off with a pair of smooth finishes inside to open the second half, helping Warwick extend its lead further. Forster rounded out the match with a trio of nice finishes in transition after recording more steals, showing active hands defensively and constantly disrupting the Hawks’ offensive sets.

She finished the match with 31 points on 14/26 shooting from the field to go with eight boards, four assists and a whopping seven steals in a marvellous two-way performance. Forster seems destined for a big year and remains vital to Warwick’s championship aspirations.