The trans-Tasman netball gets underway this afternoon, but it comes with a warning from the defending champs the New South Wales Swifts that the second season will be more physical than the first.
The Australian goal shoot and Swifts captain Catherine Cox expects the competition to be more even with the game likely to be faster, and more physical, too.
The opening match features two New Zealand teams with the Southern Steel hosting the Central Pulse in Invercargill.
The Wellington-based Pulse are the underdogs with only three players from last year's team, which finished last.
Butl coach Yvette McCausland-Durie says new signings such as the Silver Fern shooter Paula Griffin and the Jamaican defender Althea Byfield, provide a solid core of experience.
