It's been two months since Annie Miller's Suncorp Super Netball Giants left the Sydney region to finish the season on the Sunshine Coast.
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As a training partner, the 20-year-old Orange product wasn't part of the Queensland trip, but says the first-placed side has done everything in its power to keep her involved in the program.
On Saturday at Nissan Arena, the Giants will compete in an all-NSW grand-final as the competition's two best sides will duke it out for a championship.
The fixture marks the end of an eye-opening season for Miller as she's juggled a physiotherapy degree at Australian Catholic University with her maiden season on netball's biggest stage.
"This season was a really good learning experience for me," Miller said.
"When the Giants played the Magpies in Sydney, I made my debut. I didn't play for long, but I really didn't care at the time.
"It was so interesting to play against the other teams, and you don't realise how much of a step up in competition the league is.
"It just peaked my interest in the sport even more and made me hungrier to get even better."
Miller prides herself on her ability to get around the court quickly, and says she'd like to use that agility to become a better defender, insisting "every coach loves an attacking player who can defend".
She hopes those improvements will help her secure another contract at the Giants as all of next year's contracts are yet to be drawn up.
"The end of this season is going to be a little different to be previous ones," she said.
"Everything's still a bit up in the air, but I'd love to stay in Sydney and stay close to home. But all I want to do is play, so I'd be happy to do that anywhere."
As for Saturday's grand-final, there's plenty of buzz about the local derby, and Miller will be watching intently from home.
"It's definitely been good to keep following the team during lockdown," she said.
"The coaching staff and players have done a really good job keeping us involved. We're still in all the group chats and they're still doing exercise programs for us."
The SSN grand-final will kick-off at Brisbane's Nissan Area at 2.30pm.
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