NSW Country Corellas battle through poor start to defeat South Australia in Australian Rugby Shield opener

But the Corellas picked up their game over the back half of the match to see off a spirited SA squad in a 20-8 result.

Bathurst Bulldogs' Tiana Anderson was a standout in the round one victory at Ballymore, scoring twice for the NSW women.

Her Bulldogs teammate Mel Waterford, who captains the squad, was proud of the way the team didn't let a poor start discourage them.

"We gave them a lot of possession early. We just kept dropping the ball and gave away a lot of penalties as the girls tried to get their combinations together," she said.

"We clicked a lot better in the second half and came away with the win. It gave us a lot of confidence knowing that we could have a start like that but still be able to get our structure together by the end of it and get out of jail.

"South Australia are a bit of a surprise packet because you never know what you're going to get year to year. They've got some great players down there and they're trying to develop their competition.

"I think we had a really strong set piece. Our scrums and lineouts were dominating, and we composed ourselves really well in the second half."

The Corellas next take on the ACT & Southern NSW Kestrels on Friday before playing the ADF squad on Saturday and finals on the following day.

"It's a very talented bunch in this Corellas team. There's a couple of young girls playing for the first time and they've really stepped up to this level and played some exciting footy," Waterford said.

"Canberra's sure to be a tough game. They've got a lot of players who are fringe Brumbies players and are moving towards that level.

"ADF is a surprise packet year to year and then moving forward you've got Victoria and Perth, who are similar to the ACT in that they've got those emerging players working towards SuperW contracts."

It was a tougher time for the NSW Country Cockatoos men's side as they were bested by Perth 31-8.

The Cockatoos weren't far away from their western opponents at half-time when they found themselves down just 7-3 but Perth put the foot down in a big 40 minutes of play.

Cockatoos actually took the early lead in the second half before a quick run of tries to Perth put things well beyond NSW's reach.

The day's big rivalry game between the NSW and Queensland Country colts teams was one of the most entertaining clashes of the opening round, with nothing able to split the teams in a 12-all draw.