Cavaliers could not have been better prepared for the premiership defence before somehow it all went awry.
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And it had nothing to do with the losses piling up.
Quite the contrary.
Two opening wins set up the anticipated grand final rematch perfectly against an unbeaten Northern Hawks.
That was March 13.
Not only the game but also the competition has sat idle and not been played over the past 78 days - and counting.
The COVID-19 pandemic struck and that was that.
Everything has stopped in its tracks extending to club training until this week Netball Tasmania delivered fresh hope with the State League commencing on July 24.
Cavaliers club director of coaching Dannie Carstens is unsure whether the enforced break and new start date will affect the reigning premiers.
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Full training for the season ahead with up to 20 players on court at any given time can resume on June 15.
"We can all agree it is not an ideal situation, but given we are in a pandemic nothing is going to be perfect. Netball Tasmania have certainly kept us updated with timely communication," Carstens said.
"With the guidelines provided by Netball Tasmania, it is probably not the ideal training court preparation time before the competition commences. But given that, we also don't want a season dragging out until the end of the year, impacting upon the next season ahead as well."
Cavaliers intend to meet up as a coaching group to go through specifics of the new Netball Tasmania guidelines for "nutting out the training schedule and logistics" for the rest of the State League year. The Hawks will look at doing something similar that is set down for Sunday.
But Carstens is concerned finding and securing indoor venues where most will not open until after training begins will be an extra hurdle.
It is one of the few things she has been willing to accept that is out of the club's hands for a successful return.
"The Cavaliers' girls have certainly kept up their individual fitness levels behind the scenes and I guess that is something that is always expected," Carstens said.
"But when we are allowed to do contesting and match play, it will be interesting to see how the girls go after the long break."
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Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
