Eleanor Cardwell is one of the biggest names in netball right now and she's found a new home at the Adelaide Thunderbirds this year.
The 28-year-old shooter and England Roses representative has uprooted her life to challenge herself on the other side of the globe, and so far, the move is paying off.
Five rounds into the Super Netball season the Thunderbirds sit second, having only dropped one game.
In their latest win, on Saturday night, they played the best match we've seen from them in a long time to beat one of the competition's heavyweights, the Melbourne Vixens, 61-50.
Cardwell was an important part of that victory, nailing 30 goals and five super shots at 92 per cent accuracy.
Beyond her shooting prowess, the Blackpool-born star has fast become a valued member of the side's leadership group, as the eldest and most experienced player in their attack end.
Her signing has been mutually beneficial for both parties.
The Thunderbirds have found their missing piece up front to convert the turnover Jamaican defenders Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson win at the back, while Cardwell is in the best possible position to prepare for the Netball World Cup in Cape Town this July.
"I feel like I'd really got the maximum that I could out of the UK Super League," Cardwell told the ABC.
"We'd won titles in 2019 and 2022, and I'd had two or three seasons where I'd been playing consistently at goal attack and slipping in and out at goal shooter, building my confidence up.
"It got to the point where there was only a handful of defenders who I really had to think about, so I needed something to push me, to get my brain working more and to get that international feel.
"If you're not getting challenged every week, it's a big step up when you get into the England set-up, so when I had the opportunity to come out here and play, I wanted to grasp that … hear different voices from different coaches, different styles … It's nice to learn new stuff."
People were jumping on the bandwagon early with a lot of positive commentary that has been less forthcoming over the past decade as the team have failed to reach the national netball league finals since 2013. Instead, they've finished towards the bottom of the ladder.
Still, they never seem to have a problem selling out their home venue at Netball SA Stadium, and now Cardwell is playing in pink, the faithful that have stuck with them throughout the tougher years are being joined by a wave of support from other states.
It just goes to show the power of a marquee signing and Cardwell isn't the only Roses import Adelaide have nabbed this season.
A casual catch-up at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year between old friends Tania Obst and Tracey Neville turned into a legitimate partnership roughly two months later, when the club announced the former gold-medal winning coach would be joining their ranks as an assistant.
Back in 2018 when the Roses beat the Diamonds by just one goal on the Gold Coast to steal the podium's number one spot, it was Obst under Neville – now those roles have reversed.
Although Cardwell was searching for new ideas and direction here in Australia, she said she was genuinely rapt to hear her long-time mentor would be following her more than 16,000 kilometres from the Thunder to the Thunderbirds.
After all, it was Neville that uncovered Cardwell's shooting talent at a Manchester training session early into her UK Super League career and helped her transition from the defensive circle to the front of the court – without it, Cardwell believes she wouldn't be here playing at this level today.
"I definitely came first and Tracey followed," Cardwell laughs.
"Tania called to tell me she'd joined, and I was trying to do a silent scream and not let anyone know because I was at training at the time, but I was so excited she was coming, she's such a good coach.
"It was like 10pm at night when I found out and I texted Tracey straight away to say, 'Why are you following me, stop following me' joking around of course."
Neville herself had been in pursuit of a Super Netball head coaching gig during the pandemic but had to pull out of the recruitment process due to the border restrictions on her young family.
The only thing Cardwell is lamenting about their reunion is the fact she'll be unable to escape the nickname Neville came up with years ago – Ellie – which has caught on right around the world and has been very hard to shake.
Instead, she much prefers "The Claw" that fans have given her for her unusual take of the ball on the outside of a defender and is super dependent on strong wrist work.
"I think 'The Claw' started to catch on a lot more at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, it was my debut at the tournament and my mum even made a sign with it," Cardwell said.
"Back when I was a defender, my footwork wasn't the best, so to get around the body I'd catch the ball with almost a reverse hand, rather than getting my feet around and catching it with two.
"When you're in a contest that is 50/50 and you can't get your arm up because their body is there, being able to take the ball at a different angle and keep hold of it is quite handy and a few more people are trying it now, I've been sent videos of young girls giving it a go.
"I love it, but my coaches hate it … Every time I'd do it in the UK Super League, Tracey or Karen Greig at the Thunder would go insane and shout 'Two hands Eleanor, two hands'."
This weekend, Cardwell will come up against her greatest rival on the international court, West Coast Fever captain and Diamonds goal keeper Courtney Bruce.
The pair have had some excellent battles for England and Australia since Cardwell became a regular starter for the Roses, and the contest is expected to be just as hot in Super Netball.
The Fever come into round six undefeated in their quest to defend their 2022 premiership and will have the loud home crowd advantage of their 'green army' in Perth.
It'll be the Thunderbirds' toughest task yet of their promising Super Netball campaign and should demonstrate whether they're real contenders or just pretenders this season.
The match-up is the exact challenge Cardwell has been seeking at a domestic level and she is hoping her new team will give her some extra tips on how to overcome Bruce's tight one-on-one hold. She also expects a battle of mind games will be in full swing.
"You definitely have to think about what you're doing when you face Courtney, you can't switch off and if a goal keeper is going to, as you say, be a pest, I won't just curl up in a ball and not do anything about it … I'm always going to fight from my corner to play the best netball I can and find a way to combat her," Cardwell said.
"If you can try and get in their head and get their head down, you know you've beaten them, so if she wants to get in a fight, I might try not to be in a fight, or I might try and add to it and get her flustered … It's the one percenters you need to beat the opposition and mindset helps for sure.
"Fever's defence is awesome, especially with Sunday Aryang too … It's going to be great to play against that strong Aussie defence and get knowledge for World Cup, I always do my homework."
