That’s not to say it hasn’t played netball worthy of the big screen this season.
The ninth-ranked Demons face their first real road trip with a trek to Euroa looming and will be hoping their cast of stars can gussy up for a showdown with a high flying Magpie unit.
“It’s always tough playing down in Euroa, but anyhow, we’ll be doing our best,” United coach Jeanette Serra said.
“It’s hard to judge, we’ve played different teams to what Euroa have, so it’ll be interesting to see on the day.
“They’ve had Mansfield, Benalla and Seymour – we haven’t played any of those sides.”
While it’s hard to argue Euroa has had the easier of runs heading into round four, Ellie Warnock’s charges have been clinical.
The Magpies have drained 170 goals in the opening three contests – the second best in the comp – and will surely make life tough for United’s defensive bastions Bess Schinoffsky and Olivia Kirby.
Both excelled in a recent loss to Mooroopna, where the new attacking combination of debutant Diaz Barzen and Georgia Walpole played together for the first time and perhaps didn’t fire with the ruthless edge associated with United in year’s past.
However, upon reflection on the loss to the Cats, Serra said there was much to learn.
“We expected Mooroopna to be tough and it certainly was a very physical match,” she said.
“We were reasonably happy with our defensive side of things, we felt like we had a lot of opportunities that our defence gave us, it was more we weren’t able to convert a lot of the turnovers we had.
“Our shooting percentage was down a little bit on where it needed to be, but that was probably a reflection of the physicality and the pressure in the goal ring from the Mooroopna defenders which is a credit to them.
“We took away some good things and we’ll be looking to build on them in the match against Euroa which we know will be quite a tough one as well.
“We’re looking to let our goalers settle in with each other and let that work out intrinsically around how they’ll combine, which takes time.”
United remains largely unchanged from last week, apart from the reintroduction of midcourter Amy Brooks.
At Mooroopna, a top-of-the-table stoush manifests when the Cats welcome Seymour to the court.
The Lions arrive buoyant after a recent 15-goal triumph over Euroa, while the host has swept all its local rivals aside and welcomes the challenge of the reigning premier.
Another noteworthy clash hits Victoria Park as mid-table outfits Echuca and Shepparton Swans do battle, while Shepparton will look to hold firm against a talented Rochester.
Elsewhere, bolter Tatura can make it a perfect start by downing 10th-placed Kyabram, and Mansfield and Benalla meet in a bottom-of-the-ladder duel.
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