'Overwhelming': Equex Centre turns orange in support of Super Netball trial

Spectators from across the Riverina arrived at the stadium for the Giants' preseason clash with league newcomers Melbourne Mavericks.

Whether attending their first game or their fifth, the crowd was fired up for the Mavericks' 62-58 win.

Local Panthers player Kenda Mathers was decked out for the game, where she had the special job of leading a Giants player to the court.

The eight-year-old said she was excited to meet the players she had seen on television.

"I know one of my friends who also is going to take out the Giants too," Kenda said.

"I play for Panthers, I think it's good because all my family members play netball too and they make me feel like I can do it with people watching me.

"I get to see all my friends and watch the Giants play."

A self-confessed midcourt lover, Kenda said she loves to run around the whole court as centre.

With a bag stacked of fresh Giants gear for the event, she showed off her favourite new wardrobe item.

"I got a new Aboriginal jumper, it's pretty, I like it," she said.

While Kenda was attending with her mother and sister, across the court from the local family was part of the 30-strong Tumbaroos contingent that travelled to town for the event.

A mix of both senior and junior players were eager for the road trip, with Claire Spencer saying the night had been a long time coming for the eager fans.

"We've come from the Tumbarumba Football Netball club, we're about to kick off our season for the Upper Murray competition and about 30 girls decided they'd like to come and watch the netball," Spencer said.

"Normally we'd have to go to Melbourne to access any type of Super Netball, so to have access, especially for our juniors, for our little kids, who have only ever seen it on TV, it's an amazing opportunity for them to see [a game].

"Even the local girls beforehand, it was amazing to see those local netballers on a local stage."

Accessibility is hugely important for Spencer, with travel, accommodation, and ticket costs cut for the game.

She said by making the game so accessible to people in the region, she believes it will generate increased interest in the sport at the local level.

"If we go to Melbourne, it's a whole day or you have to get accommodation," she said.

"The coaching clinics they had on [Thursday] is so important for regional netball.

"They're really excited, even having access to the wheel and stuff like that, having photos with the Giants flag, when you do go to Melbourne it's such a massive production, here they're waving at kids they see at swimming carnivals, so they're very very excited.

"Though our seniors were just as excited as our juniors."

Sitting high up in the upper level bleachers was Erin Schirner and Rachel Day, who had brought junior players Josie Schirner, Jess Lane, Abby Day, and Georgia Day to the match.

The pair said to watch top level netball locally was unheard of and they didn't want to miss the chance to see Super Netball play in their backyard.

"To see this level of netball locally is such a great chance because we just can't go to Melbourne during the year, so it's too good of an opportunity to not come," Schirner said.

The girls all started playing together at Net-Set-Go and took every opportunity to engage with the Giants while they were in town.

Decked out in their newly-signed gear after Thursday's meet and greet, the four girls are no strangers to Giants stars.

"The girls came to the training last night with Jaime-Lee (Price) and Jo Harten," Day said.

"Jamie-Lee was at their school last year as well, so they're big fans."

Schirner and Day echoed Spencer's comments on the importance of access to high level sport in the region.

The duo said they're hopeful more games will be held in the regions in coming years.

Giants general manager Tim Underwood said the team's time in Wagga was an outstanding success.

"It has been overwhelming if I'm being honest," Underwood said.

"We have been so welcomed by everybody at the Association, at every school we went to, every interaction we've had has been fantastic.

"For us it's about building a fan base, we're a young club, we're a relatively new club, and we see ourselves beyond just Sydney.

"We want to be the team for New South Wales and that involves getting out to the regions and the reality is that netball is played across the state, it's not just played in Sydney, so they deserve every opportunity and if we've got a facility to play in, we'll come."

Admitting the crowd took a while to warm up, Underwood said they echoed the team on court.

Once the team had momentum though, so too did the crowd.

"It was one of those things where I think our team took a while to warm up as well," he said.

"The score wasn't going out our way early, but I certainly think in the last quarter, we got a taster of what it could be like down here.

"If we were playing every week, I've no doubt that it would have been louder and more raucous from the start, but it was great."

A huge weekend of events not just for the town but for players especially, Underwood said the players have got as much out of the experience as spectators have.

Giants will travel to Griffith on Saturday morning where they will do a day of appearances before playing another trial with Mavericks on Sunday.