The same can't be said of the 2019 season, which kicks off on Saturday afternoon.

While the Lions once again enter the competition as defending premiers - their Craig Harvey Mechanical side won the club's 11^th straight title last year - and deserve to be considered the pre-season benchmark again, a whirlwind of off-season player movements has created a very real feeling of unknown.

From the Lions' premiership-winning side Ellie Madden and player-of-the-final Milly Wilcox have both moved on, linking with last year's beaten grand finalists Orange Physiotherapy Vipers and OHS Hornets respectively.

The Hornets have also picked up Annalise Maier from Hawks Royals while her older sister Alice has moved to Life Studio, the latter side has also recruited another tall shooter in Aurella White from Forbes.

They'll help the navy and lime bibs offset the loss of Tara Nagle and Lucy Brisbane, who have both moved away for university, and Hawks won't have the services of Erin Naden in 2019 either although Amanda Hurford's return after missing most of last season is a boost.

They're just a handful of examples which have sent the buzz surrounding this year's season soaring to fever pitch levels, while the promotion of last year's division two-winning Life Studio Sportspower side has helped create a new dynamic as well.

They become the third Life Studio side in the top flight, and the fact her club makes almost half the competition isn't lost on player-coach Mardi Aplin, who also said she's not seen player movement of this level before.

"I don't think I've seen this much movement in division one before, no, it looks like it'll be a really even competition," Aplin said ahead of the opening round.

"Saturday will obviously tell us a little bit more but I think most sides have lost a few and picked up a few as well, it'll be pretty interesting to see how all the teams find their feet in the first few weeks.

"I'd think Orange City (Craig Harvey Mechanical) have to be considered the benchmark and I think Vipers will still be up there too.

"It's really exciting for us (to have three sides in division one), I'm really interested to see how they go."

Life Studio Sportspower come into the top flight in place of Hawks DVM, who drop down to the division two Orange Jeep Cup as per Orange Netball Association's promotion-relegation system.

While they're a young side and comparatively inexperienced, Aplin explained the Sportspower outfit is largely made up of representative players and certainly isn't short of burgeoning talent, with the likes of Lucy Dean and Bonnie Keegan in the line up.

"The majority of these girls play in Orange's under-15 or under-17 representative sides so they have experience and there's a lot of talent, but they are playing against women now so it'll be very different but I think they'll go pretty well," Aplin said.

"There was discussion early in the piece about how they wanted to do it, whether they'd mould in with the other sides or play as the same side but they want to challenge themselves and see how they go, which is exciting for them because they've earned the right to do that."

Aplin went on to say the 'ultimate goal' is to have all three Life Studio sides earn semi-final berths before, potentially, creating a navy and lime-wash come grand final day, although that's easier said than done of course.

"That's the ultimate goal, but there won't be any easy games for any side, there never is," she said.

Life Studio Sportspower make their division one debut against the Hornets on Saturday afternoon. OHS finished seventh in 2018 but Aplin said with the quality of player they've added this season she considers them a "dark horse".

Wilcox and Maier will join an already-exciting, young roster that, despite winning just two games, pushed a number of the top sides in 2018, one that also includes the likes of Tabua Tuinakauvadra and Bailie-Rose Miller.

Tuinakauvadra will skipper the side, with Wilcox her deputy.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can in those leadership roles," Hornets coach Tegan Dray, who will also line up for the defending premiers as usual, said.

"[The player movement] is exciting, if every side stayed the same every year it would be a bit dull so it'll be interesting to see how all the teams come together, and it's great for us to have Milly and Annalise come over, they'll provide experience and depth to the group."

Maier is based in Parkes but having Wilcox among the Hornets' group full-time will benefit the side's school-based campaigns as well, Dray said, but that wasn't a huge factor in the move.

"It will be an advantage in those terms with Milly, but I think it's as much about them playing with their peers and taking on a new, different challenge," Dray explained, before explaining her side's focus in the early stages of the season.

"We've spoken about it quite a bit and we've established goals, mainly we just want to get through the first round of playing each team before we start focusing too much on results or what we have the potential to do.

"I've always made sure we don't focus too much on the score week-in, week-out, I like focusing more on the processes and all the little things in terms of what we're doing, like making sure everyone's enjoying themselves on the court and improving every week."

The Hornets take on Life Studio Sportspower from 3.50pm on Court A at Sir Neville Howse Stadium on Saturday afternoon, while Orange City Craig Harvey Mechanical open the day against Life Studio from 1.10pm, also on Court A.

Life Studio Mid West Eyes take on Orange City Epiroc at 2.30pm on the same court, while Hawks and Vipers clash at the same time on court B.