THE smiling face of Tweed Coast Tiger Ellie Pritchard, enjoying a well-earned post-match beverage, says much about the physical nature of AFL and the fundamental joy in having the opportunity to play the sport.

Despite looking worse for wear post game, Pritchard was one of the Tigers' best in their record 43-point win over competition newcomers Byron in the opening round.

The Tigers take on Ballina in three grades at Pottsville's Seabreeze Sports Field today.

"Mum was a bit worried when she saw the photo with all the blood, but dad was actually pretty proud, he just said 'that's my girl',” Pritchard said.

"I grew up playing netball, which is a physical sport, but AFL takes it to that other level and really lets you get stuck in.

"The girls that play footy are the ones who love it when it's physical and rough, it sets it apart from other sports.”

The Tigers joined the new Northern Rivers women's AFL competition last season.

This year a bunch of new faces have joined the club off the back of the profile and attention generated by the national AFLW competition.

"We all talked about the AFLW and followed it and went up to a few games,” Pritchard said. "It's definitely brought that wide appeal and a heap of new girls to the club this year.

"There's a great feeling around the Tigers. The women's team is a big part of the club and there are two of our team on the committee now having a say in running the club.”

The first round was also a tough day at the office for the senior men's team.

Despite pushing two-time defending champions Byron for much of the day, the Tigers eventually went down by 40 points.

With a host of club newcomers playing their first game for the Tigers, seniors coach Jonathon Bevan described it as a "learning experience”.

"Half of those blokes hadn't played together before, it was a great chance to work out how we combine and work together as a team,” he said.

"I'll never question the effort, that was definitely there against Byron and we showed signs of how we want to play our footy this season.”

Round two fixtures:

Reserves v Ballina - 11am

Women v Ballina - 12.30pm

Seniors v Ballina - 2.30pm