"We were a little bit disappointed that we didn't make it into the final five, unfortunately it just wasn't our year in making it to finals," Cross said.

The Saints fielded a new look side in 2021, retaining little of the side that finished fourth in 2019.

"We only had three players from the previous season, so we had quite a new line up to work with and develop," Cross said.

"It was good to have a few new additions to the team, they brought a lot of different aspects to our gameplay.

"We worked well, working with an almost entirely different team environment."

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On top of new senior players, the Saints took the opportunity to debut some junior players to cover injuries and gaps.

"We had the opportunity to have a couple of juniors to sit on our bench throughout the season," Cross said.

"We were able to get them on court whenever we could, to give a couple of the under 17s the experience of some senior games,"

According to Cross the highlight of a disappointing year for the Saints was just being able to get back out on court and play netball.

"The biggest highlight was just being out on the court. It's great just to be out there. We were able to play as a team, we built good friendships as a group and play well together.

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"Stopping and starting isn't ideal, but we were glad to be out on the court when we could. Especially having the (2020) season cancelled, we were happy to take any chance we could to get back out on court.

Nevertheless, after finishing the season in seventh place with five wins and six losses, Cross said there was work to be done.

"We need to capitalise on turnovers. We're able to create turnovers, but we just need to capitlisie on those a bit more to move forward and move on up the ladder," she said.

"Another aspect would be those close games (we lost). We just need to keep our cool and try to convert as many chances as we get."

Injuries were another concern in a shortened, disrupted season.

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"We had Megan Burn go down with a calf injury for the majority of the season. She was one of our key players in attack. Wing attack was hard to fill in her absence," Cross said.

"That was a big loss for us and we just had a few close games that we could have, and should have, won."

However there were players who stood up and had immense seasons.

"Ellie Barnett really stood up in her role in defence. She really was able to work well our defensive players and held her own down that end," Cross said.

"At the other end Abbie Hallam was great. She's a very accurate shooter and is very athletic, she puts good defensive pressure down the court as well.

Cross said she hopes the team sticks together for the 2022 season.

"I think the team will stick together, it's quite a pivotal point. The longer you play together the easier it comes.

Cross also added that the team will have another addition in 2022.

"I was pregnant all year this year, so I'll hopefully be out on the court again next season."

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