After a patchy start to the Super Netball season, Collingwood are finally living up to their star potential.
The Magpies notched their third consecutive victory with a 61-59 defeat of Queensland Firebirds in Launceston on Sunday.
With four rounds remaining, the Pies have cemented their spot within the top four and are well-placed to make the finals.
Success has been a long time coming for the AFL-affiliated side, who were tipped to dominate the competition after signing national stars Sharni Layton, Caitlin Thwaites and Madi Robinson.
While the newly-formed side showed glimpses of their talent, a lack of on-court chemistry proved a major hurdle early in the season.
But with the Pies notching back-to-back wins over the Giants, Fever and Firebirds, there's every indication they're starting to hit their straps at just the right moment.
"I think the word 'belief' comes to mind straight away - they now actually have that belief," coach Kristy Keppich-Birrell said.
"You have to find each other, and to trust each other in those hard moments. You have to do it for it to actually happen and now we've done it three times in a row, so it just continues to build."
After weeks of tinkering with their frontcourt set-up, the Magpies look to have found a winning combination in Diamonds goal shooter Thwaites and goal attack Cody Lange.
But Thwaites, who drained 43 of her 45 shots against the Firebirds to lead the competition in scoring, said there were positives in continuing to rotate players through the goal attack position.
"I think it's great that we've got such different players that can be thrown out there and just change the dynamic of what's going on," Thwaites said.
"The defenders have to adjust to that and I think that worked really well today."
While the Magpies fired on the offensive end, it was goalkeeper Layton who dragged her side over the line.
Often the Magpies' barometer, the tenacious defender had a game-high six intercepts and five deflections despite giving up almost 10cm to Firebirds goal shooter Romelda Aiken.
"It's hard because when you're a defender, you want every single ball, and when you don't get every single ball you can see her belting herself up about it," Keppich-Birell said.
"That's what makes Sharni (who she is) and that's what makes this team competitive."
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