Julie Fitzgerald, the GWS Giants Suncorp Super Netball head coach, well, she likes to say it's "untapped".

And then you look at Alex Emerson, after her first foray into the NSW representative set-up, and you can't wipe the smile off her face.

She's home. 

They're all in love with regional netball.

McCormick is Orange's Diamond; the schoolgirl who learned her mid-court trade on the old outside coursts at Moulder Park and then progressed through the ranks to reach the highest level of netball.

McCormick was part of Australia’s triumphant 1995 Netball World Cup team, which she is quick to say is a career highlight ... but surely you haven't made it until you've got a trophy named after you, right?

Well, she's got one of those too - high school teams from across Orange annually take part in the Marianne Murphy Shield, and they've done so since 2002.

Now she's back where it all began.

The former international returned to Orange on the weekend as part of the NSW under 19s team, linking with former Sydney Swifts teammate Nerida Stewart as part of the blue bibs 2019 coaching staff.

The under 19s girls took out the annual HeartKids Cup, what started as a pre-season exhibition game between city and country - Baulkham Hills and Orange associations - in 2012 and has grown into a full-blow tournament state teams now use as virtually their main tune-up before tackling the national championships a month later.

In many ways, the flourishing Cup mimics the development of netball in the bush.

"It's a great level of competition and I think Mardi (Aplin) has done a great job organising," McCormick said.

"This is a really high standard … there's a level of netball to aspire to here for kids.

"When I played you made a state team then went to a club, now there's so many other good options and you can see that here; NSW development sides, UTS, the GWS program ... anyone can step up.

"There's a lot of good-level netball and good level of coaching, and that's here too."

McCormick is no stranger to high-level coaches, and two of those were on deck at the Cup. 

Jill McIntosh is a member of the Netball Australia hall of fame and has coached the Diamonds more times than anyone else in history.

Likewise, Julie Fitzgerald is a master at her craft. The former Sydney Swifts coach is now in charge of the GWS Giants.

Both super coaches were in Orange on the weekend to run their eye over the state sides in action but couldn't help but notice the level of talent on show from the country girls taking part as well.

"Untapped? Without a doubt," Fitzgerald fires when asked about the talent in regional areas.

Her reply was quicker than a centre-pass from one of the NSW girls in action.

"There's some really good players in the country and its our job to find them, develop them and make it easier for them," she continues.

"Orange has produced some great netballers over the years. NSW has started doing more work in the country and that work will come to fruition."

Fitzgerald says netball, at all levels, is more professional, players fitter, faster, stronger and the product is more exciting.

"If you look back to where netball was five years ago to where it is now, the growth has been amazing," she added.

Eight of the 10 members in Fitzgerald's GWS line-up have progressed through the NSW representative pathway, being the under 19s and under 17s sides.

Both of those teams were in action at Sir Neville Howse Stadium and both included members of a production line headed by McCormick.

Annie Miller starred for the victorious under 19s while Emerson is a relative rookie in the program, but looked far from out of place in the big leagues.

She marked up against player of the tournament, Ange Frketic, throughout the Cup and even got the chance to go bib-to-bib with Miller in the final, an all-blue affair.

And the young Orange defender couldn't get enough of it.

"I'm loving every second of it," the 16-year-old said looking at her time in blue and being back in Orange to play.

"It's very intense but it's a new experience and I love it."

For Aplin, aside from being a cause close to her heart, so to speak, given HeartKids was there for her and her family while son Carter dealt with congenital heart disease and the multiple surgeries that follow, the Cup is a chance to both highlight country netball and give the next generation of players the chance to experience first hand what it takes to become the next McCormick or Miller or even Emerson.

The exposure is key.

"I texted all of my 11-years development squad to come up here (on Sunday) to check it all out," Aplin said.

"When we started we had Gab Simpson who's now in the Diamonds, Kristina Brice, Sam Poolman, players who hadn't broken into the national setup yet but are now SSN or Australia. 

"I'll guarantee the players we had out there on the court will be future Aussie players. What a fantastic thing."

And McCormick, well, she's just hoping a little bit of the old school will rub off on that exciting generation-next.

"These guys are really fast with the ball, they're not too aerial, they're not really tall ... but I'm a shrimp so I've been going for the hard, fast short game," she said.

"It's nice to see our era back in it."