The Hawks moved into twelfth place with a 10.10 (70) to 5.6 (36) victory off the back of a double for Claudia Russell combining with a hat-trick for full forward Eva Bailey.

One of the new recruits for Cardiff in the 2018 season, Bailey opened the scoring just three minutes into the contest, and added her second five minutes later to give the Hawks a buffer in the opening quarter.

Read: Opening quarter barrage decides grand final rematch

She was joined on the score-sheet by Ellen Anderson and Minerva Bailey, while the Dockers answered back with one from Carla Hill just before half time.

It looked like Cardiff were beginning to run away with the match, but after sustaining pressure for the first seven minutes of the second quarter Lake Macquarie struck twice through Emma-Jayne Howe.

Howe would go on to add two more across the tail end of the match, including one late on in the fourth quarter, but a third from Bailey just 18 seconds into the second half proved key as the Lady Hawks soared to an eventual 34-point victory.

Mollie Palmer, Taylah Wilks and Isabella Jones all scored one for the Hawks in the third quarter to round out their goal-scoring tally.

Read: Crossfire keep Fever at bay in tight 3-goal victory

Earlier, one of the early round blockbuster matches was played at No.1 Sportsground as the Stars held off a late surge from the Novas to win the Newcastle City derby, 8.5 (53) to 6.6 (42).

The Novas nearly mounted a come-back against their fellow club mates as they narrowed a 21-point half-time deficit, with six individual goalscorers bagging majors for the defeated squad. Four goals from Sarah Halvorsen proved key to the Stars’ undefeated streak continuing.

Elsewhere, Killarney Vale scrapped through as best in a low-scoring thriller, downing Wyong Lakes 2.1 (13) to 1.4 (10), while hat-tricks for Warners Bay’s Amy Pittman and Lessa Wholohan saw the Bulldogs triumph 14.10 (94) to 0.0 (0) over Muswellbrook.

Terrigal Avoca fell by 58 points to local southern rivals Gosford, as the Tigers ran out 11.13 (79) to 3.3 (21) winners at Adcock Park after just a 15-point margin at half-time. Ange Jones and Sarah Hudson both kicked three, while Morgan Ross bagged one for the Panthers against her old club.

Singleton charged to third on the ladder after Novas’ defeat earlier in the day, with Liz Moule’s hat-trick bolstered by doubles for Brianna Howard, Tahlia Thompson, Emily Mitchell and Natasha Pietrzac as they marched to a 15.15 (105) to 0.2 (2) win over Port Stephens at Ferodale Park.

Read: Northstars claim all six points in successful Melbourne road-trip

Finally, Nelson Bay moved to the top of the ladder as Jesse Jakubowski took control of their fixture against The Entrance Bateau Bay, slotting 11 majors home for the Marlins, while Wallsend-West Newcastle played just their second competitive match against Maitland, falling 18.18 (126) to 0.5 (5).

The Black Diamond AFL Women’s competition will have a general bye next weekend, with Round 7 to be played on Saturday, May 26.

TABLE: Nelson Bay (24), Stars (24), Singleton (20), Gosford (20), Novas (20), Wyong Lakes (16), Maitland (16), Killarney Vale (16), Warners Bay (12), Muswellbrook (8), Terrigal Avoca (4), Cardiff (4), Port Stephens (4), The Entrance Bateau Bay (4), Lake Macquarie (0), Wallsend-West Newcastle (0).