Long recognised as Australia's top women's sport, netball launches its new national league this weekend in a marketplace suddenly chock-full of options for elite female athletes.
The all-Australian Super Netball competition boasts eight teams, three new franchises, new rules, and a highly coveted prime time slot on free-to-air TV.
For the first time, players can afford to live off their salaries - courtesy of a lucrative five-year broadcast and sponsorship deal which has created a player pool of $5.4 million and increased the average player salary to around $67,500.
Minimum player salaries have more than doubled from $13,250 to $27,375.
Australian coach Lisa Alexander said the competition would help ensure continued success for the world No.1 ranked Diamonds through increased player numbers and exposure to top-tier netball while also creating an exciting product for the public.
"Part of that whole jigsaw puzzle is making sure that we have the world's best domestic competition that supports international netball," Alexander told AAP.
"What the ANZ championship brought, we got regular matches against the New Zealand style of play which is an advantage.
"However netball fans seem to prefer the Aussie-on-Aussie style.
"Netball Australia has been brave and been able to respond to that and take advantage of the excitement around the World Cup in 2015 and build on it, particularly in the corporate space.
"It's timely also because we've got the Women's Big Bash (and) also the luanch of AFL Women's this year which has been an unqualified success.
"It's really important now that we put our step forward at the start of the Super Netball season."
Seven double headers headline a 14 round home-and-away season with six local derbies between the two Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland sides.
Gone are the New Zealand sides from the trans-Tasman netball league (2008-16) and in come three franchises with the backing of elite football clubs.
Collingwood's Magpies have recruited with precision and finesse, securing the signatures of seven representative Diamonds players including current captain Sharni Layton.
The Greater Western Sydney Giants lured stars such as Kim Green and Susan Pettitt from their cross city rivals the NSW Swifts, while the Melbourne Storm-backed Sunshine Coast Lightning will look to forge a place in the parochial Queensland sporting public's hearts which traditionally belongs to the champion Firebirds side.
A triple header derby kicks off competition and new rivalries on Saturday night with NSW Swifts taking on the Giants, Melbourne Vixens locking horns with Collingwood Magpies and the Queensland Firebirds playing Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Adelaide Thunderbirds will host West Coast Fever on Sunday to round out the opening weekend where new tactical timeouts will also be introduced and have the potential to break a side's momentum at a crucial time.
At least two games of Super Netball will be broadcast live each Saturday night, with live matches and replays broadcast, and on demand, through Telstra TV and the Netball Live App.
