Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Australia, SportNews caught up with each of the home nations to see how preparations are going in the quest for a medal on the Gold Coast.
We spoke to England captain Ama Agbeze, Scotland counterpart Claire Brownie, Northern Ireland skipper Caroline O'Hanlon and Wales' Kyra Jones ahead of the Games.
With the event getting underway later this week we asked all four players about their goals for the competition, who they see challenging for the medals and what chance of netball becoming an Olympic sport in the future.
Agbeze: We are almost where we need to be so we have got that basis. It will just be about putting it together, the right combinations on court and performing when it counts.
Brownie: This is the best Scottish team we have ever had going out to compete in a global competition. We have had a really good run of results recently in terms of international matches. We played Samoa in a Test match series and won both games and we won the World Cup qualifiers in the Europe section so we are really proud of where we are at. We are looking forward to competing against the best players in the world.
O'Hanlon: It has been a long build-up, we have had quite a lot of games in the last year or so. We have had good results so we are really looking forward to stepping it up for the Commonwealth Games and getting everyone together.
Jones: Training sessions have been really good and intense with our new coach Julie Hoornweg and assistant coach Natalie Peperell. It is all just really exciting. Moving forward we as a bunch of girls are really gelling together and working hard.
Agbeze: I have got goosebumps thinking about it. It is such a phenomenal honour and feeling [to captain the side]. It is hard to put it into words. Not many people get to do this and not many people even get to go to a Commonwealth Games. To be given the opportunity to lead the team is huge and what we are on the brink of is massive if we can pull it together and perform. It is a brilliant opportunity so I am just delighted to be in this position.
Brownie: We have taken a massive leap forward and we have so much room to grow so we are looking forward to seeing how far this young group of Scottish girls can progress in the next few years.
O'Hanlon: We were really delighted with our performances in the World Cup qualifiers and it just shows us the depth we have in the squad now that we were able to secure qualification.
Jones: Wales is a second home for me. To be able to put on the red dress and be able to say I represent my country is both a privilege and an honour. I very much look forward to it every time I get that chance to do so.
Agbeze: Australia are on their home turf and the defending champions so they are likely to be up there challenging. You have to be always wary of Jamaica because I think on their day they can be excellent. New Zealand have contended every final in the Commonwealth Games and they have often overcome some adversity. They are a team that rises to challenges when it really matters. Although we have beaten them a few time I don't think we can discount them as a team that have fallen by the wayside.
Brownie: It is going to be a really exciting competition. Australia, New Zealand are usually the teams in the final but I think there are sides like England who have got a really strong squad with experience. You have also got South Africa, who have showed so much depth and confidence in their play recently and you can't forget Jamaica. I think there will be five teams in the running for that final spot to see who comes out on top.
O'Hanlon: The Quad Series before Christmas with Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa showed the gap has narrowed. I don't think it will be a given but Australia are obviously the favourites. England, New Zealand, South Africa and maybe Malawi won't be very far away.
Jones: Australia are No 1 in the world. I imagine New Zealand will probably be up there as well and there's every chance England could also be with regards to their previous results at the back end of last year when they played New Zealand in the Quad Series.
Agbeze: We are setting ourselves the goal of winning. In Glasgow we had the goal of winning and despite the fact we didn't come away with a medal it was the closest England have come to going for the gold medal match. We have learnt our lessons from that and we had some good results in the Quad Series. We have got more [match experience] under our belt. The world believes in us more now as opposed to Glasgow, where it was just us as a team. We have played better and people outside have seen us play well and they believe we can win.
Brownie: As a team we are in our best world ranking we have ever been. We are currently ninth in the world and that is where we finished at the last Commonwealth Games. This time around we are aiming for the top-eight. We think that is achievable. We have got must-win games in our group matches and then obviously we will go into the play-offs where we will give it everything to get that final placing in the competition.
O'Hanlon: Obviously, you go into every match to play your best and to try and win. We earmark certain matches that we see as must-win and anything short of that for us wouldn't be acceptable. We then have matches where we feel if we played to our best we have the potential to win. But there will be more difficult games where we would need to be at our absolute best to win. We finished seventh in Glasgow and we would like to match that at the very least.
Jones: A lot of focus in recent weeks has been on the Superleague at the minute. We will set some goals but that will probably be when we get there. We haven't been together properly as a Welsh squad yet so we will sit down when we get to Tasmania.
Agbeze: We need to grow into non-Commonwealth countries and try to increase the number of men who play. The Olympics are looking now at sports that have equal participation between men and women. I do think Netball has a long way to go [to become an Olympic sport]. It is nice to be an all-female sport but if we do want to get to the Olympics then it is time that we embrace men and help them play. Netball is a brilliant game and it can be enjoyed by both sexes.
Brownie: It's a sport more than worthy of a place in the Olympics. It is so fast, physical and dynamic. It has got all the attributes and it is really entertaining. You can see from the competition at the Commonwealth Games the tickets sold twenty times over what the venues can hold so there is a demand. You think it's just about getting more countries aware of what a fantastic sport it is. It is very dominant in the Commonwealth countries but it is about bringing it out to others outside of the Games so that we can really showcase it to the world.
O'Hanlon: This is the world stage for netball. It is our opportunity to showcase our sport. We haven't had that opportunity at the Olympics so it's important we show the game in the best light. It's an absolute honour that feeling of going to the Games as part of a wider squad.
Jones: Netball is played by so many women across the whole world. It's the number one sport for females and to not have it in the Olympic Games is disheartening to a point. I think it would be beneficial [for the sport]. How the game is moving forward now makes it more and more exciting. You have just got to look at the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in regards to how it can be. To have that at an even higher global stage would mean more people could watch the sport and therefore you are only going to get more people wanting to play it.
