The Fusion Heat's return to the Dubbo Netball Association Rawson Homes Premership didn't arrive with quite the bang that captain Tash Robinson had hoped for.
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"It definitely wasn't our best game," Robinson admitted.
The side fought out a draw to avoid a first round loss in a rematch of last year's grand final against the Narromine Hawks in the second round.
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A forfeit from the Rhinos in round one meant the side spent the first week on the sidelines and the uncertainty preceding the season's start of whether there would even be a competition this year hasn't helped either.
"It was good to be back in against Narromine, it was a very physical game and because of that you could definitely tell that the off-season was longer than usual," Robinson said.
"We weren't as sharp as what we could be, but it felt good to have that first hit-out and get a game under our belt."
The Heat will likely need every advantage they can get if they want to keep their hands on the premiership title this year, with Robinson anticipating some big shakeups in the competition this year.
"I think a lot of the other teams have done some really good recruiting, Abby Merrit's back for the Fire and that's a huge comeback for the game, it's great for the game, getting to watch her play is always incredible, she'll be great for their attacking end," Robinson said.
"It's not ideal for the rest of us, but it's going to bring that next level and that's what we want, we want to play the best and beat the best."
While the Heat will have to wait before meeting their namesakes on the court, they'll have their hands full this weekend making every shot count against the Macquarie Hornets.
"We're really going to have to work around the other commitments a lot of us have made, we're just going to have to take it week by week," Robinson said.
"Last week we had Brit Gill, who was outstanding as usual, she was a real workhorse for us on defence, and she got us a lot of ball on the weekend, but we didn't reward her enough for it on the attack, we missed a lot of those opportunities."
Robinson said everyone who played was 'lucky and thankful' to be back, but that many players hadn't anticipated a 2020 season, and had made other commitments.
"It's not just crazy for us, but for everyone, we all made other plans and commitments, so trying to get a team together when we got the news that things were going ahead was tricky, we've just got to take it as it comes," Robinson said.
"I know a lot of the other teams were quite happy to hear that Michelle Regan wouldn't be playing for us this season, but we've got Emily Coggin back this year who we missed last season, she's great for our defensive end, gives us a lot more fight there and more pressure."
The Heat will play the Macquarie Hornets at 3.25pm on Sunday, August 8.
