THE South Coast Blaze are just three weeks away from making their debut and goal attack Brittany Berry has a simple message for their rivals: "We're here to win".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Blaze players have returned to group training as they prepare for their inaugural campaign, with the NSW Premier League season launching on July 22.
It has been a long pre-season for the region's newest netball club, after the league was postponed due to COVID-19.
Berry, 23, said the extended delay had fuelled her open team's hunger for the 2020 competition to begin.
"Seeing everyone again has been great. It's been fantastic, we're all pretty good friends already," Berry said.
"But we set the standard really early within our playing group. We're here to win, we're not here to just play.
"We go into every training session with that in mind and that intensity comes through. We know we want to win."
Berry has returned to the South Coast after making her Premier League debut with Penrith last year.
Berry, who moved to the Illawarra when she was 16, jumped at the opportunity to head back home in 2020.
"It's such a great area for netball, so many fantastic players have come out of the region," she said.
"It's so great to be able to give back to a community that has given us so much as players and hopefully do the region proud.
"We've all started somewhere, and had a connection at some point with the region."
Berry's second Premier League will be made a little easier by the presence of teammate Kristina Brice, an experienced sharp shooter who has played for ANZ Championship/Suncorp Super Netball clubs Adelaide Thunderbirds, Giants Netball and Northern Mystics.
"We are so lucky to have a player like Kristina Bryce who is such a great target in that attacking end," she said.
"We can play a supporting role for her because she's so dominant in the circle.
"She's such a wealth of knowledge and plays at such a high level.
"Off the court, she's just a great person, so easy going and happy to have an honest chat.
"Last year was my first year in Premier League.
"It was such a step up from anything I'd played before, the physicality and speed is so different to other competitions.
"It was great to be able to push myself and hopefully I'll be able to do the same this year, to push myself to be a better player."
Love local news? Sign up to our weekly newsletter
Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
