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Lightning is just what the Sunshine Coast was looking for.
The new Super Netball club is the first national team of any code to be based in the area, which has rallied behind Lightning and packed out their home stadium.
“We’ve definitely found that the community here are very tight-knit and very proud,” captain Geva Mentor told AAP on Thursday.
“You can fill a stadium and the atmosphere still be pretty dead and quiet, but I just thought that the fans were really passionate and you could feel the atmosphere and energy on court.”
One of three new teams in the new national competition, Lightning are second on the ladder and undefeated – drawing against Queensland Firebirds in Round 1 and beating Melbourne Vixens in week two.
But Mentor says it’s too early to focus on placings.
“Every team is a threat at the moment, you definitely can’t sit back on your laurels,” she said.
With players from all around the country and world joining, Mentor says it will take a while before the foundations for moving forward and peaking at the right time of the season are laid.
“The combinations are going to take time, we’re not deceiving ourselves, we know it’s not going to work straight away,” she said.
“The beauty of the position we’re in is that we can build from game to game.”
With the players relocating to the Sunshine Coast it has also strengthened their off-court bond.
“We have had to start from scratch not only with the club but in our home surroundings and our lifestyle and that makes us a lot tighter-knit.
“We’re really enjoying exploring this region – the different coffee shops, going up and down the coast and sussing out the different beaches that we like.
“You can tie that in with recovery or a bit of team-building and it’s one of those things that’s not forced, it’s just spontaneous.”
Lightning face off the Thunderbirds in Adelaide on Sunday for Round 3.