Orange Netball Association has doubled its chance of taking the chocolates on home courts this Sunday at round one of the Netball NSW Bing Lee West-Central West Regional League.
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Both the Thunder and the Lightning will play off in division one alongside Bathurst and Dubbo, with the Lightning invited to join the top tier after the other three sides were the only teams who applied for the top tier.
But while the Lightning is the second Orange Netball Association side, Thunder coach Linda Macleod isn't writing them off by any means.
"They're a strong side," she said ahead of the weekend.
The Thunder are also a strong side on paper, with the regular members of the side like Tegan Dray being joined by a new wave of youth.
I know a bit about the Dubbo side but in terms of the other teams I don't know what to expect at all. We'll wait and see what they have in store for us.
- Orange Thunder coach Linda Macleod
Macleod said she felt the 2019 squad was a "good side" and backed them in to perform, but had no idea what to expect from their opposition.
"I know a bit about the Dubbo side but in terms of the other teams I don't know what to expect at all," she said.
"We'll wait and see what they have in store for us."
Round two is on March 24 while finals, the winner of which books tickets to the State Cup later this year, will be held on March 31.
The first of Sunday's games run from 10.50am until 6pm at Sir Neville Howse Stadium.