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When Amy Parmenter packed up her life in Sydney for Melbourne last November to join Super Netball's newest, and still unnamed franchise, she was greeted by just bricks and mortar. An association stadium, in the city's southeast, and a bag of netballs welcomed the 26-year-old wing defence and a whole lot of excitement about a new chapter for the nine-cap Diamond and what would later be known as the Melbourne Mavericks. "I played at Waverley Netball Centre 10 years ago at under-17 nationals. It's such an awesome place, it's out of town but when I got there immediately, I was like 'I love it," the Mavs captain told ESPN at a league pre-season event on Wednesday. "They were talking about us training here [Melbourne Sports Centres, Parkville] and sharing the venue with the Vixens and I did that at the Giants with the Swifts, and it just feels nice to have our own space. "We've got a team room, the sprung court is beautiful and my knees are happy. It automatically felt like our home, and nothing mattered - we had a court, we had some balls, and we were going to be fine. "Apart from that we had nothing - there was no name or uniform, so many of the staff hadn't been put in place but it was nice because we'd come in every week and a new person had started, there'd be a new bit of gear or some new information, our first sponsor. It's been so exciting and getting bigger and bigger every week. "It's insane the amount of work our GM Shae Bolton-Brown has done, SEN and the Mavericks. You look at the new Tasmanian AFL club, it's taken and will take years to come together, and we've done this in six months.  "It's a crazy mission but that's part of the fun and adventure." It's a history-making week for the Mavericks who on Sunday host the Melbourne Vixens at John Cain Arena in Australian sport's newest local derby. "Melbourne is such a special city and the sports culture here is wild and I feel like part of that is now bringing this new derby to life. We're expecting a full house and it's the biggest and best way to begin," Parmenter said. "Giants and Vixens always had a really good rivalry so I'm used to those big games against the Vixens. We're still trying to find our place in this city, we're trying to work out who our fans are, where our areas are and this sort of plays into that and we really need to make our mark and stamp our authority as the new team in a two-team town." While the Mavericks are figuring out their identity on court, resilience quickly became an early hallmark of their DNA with devastating pre-season injuries to Sasha Glasgow (broken leg) and Lauren Moore (ACL). "That was really tough, it's been a tough preseason, but our squad is really resilient because of what a lot of our girls have been through throughout their careers," Parmenter said. "None of them have had easy journeys; there's been injuries, setbacks, sitting on the bench. Everyone knows how to dig in, work hard and come together and sometimes stuff like this does bring teams closer together. "Sasha is back, not running yet, but having her around again is really nice, she has such a calm head and positive attitude on the group. "Obviously devastated for Sasha and Loz but hopefully there's a few silver linings that come out of it." For Parmenter, the big move, after seven seasons at the Giants beginning as a training partner in 2017, has been everything she hoped for and needed all before the first centre pass of the season. "I wanted growth, I wanted to try new experiences, I wanted to have adventures. "I was so in my comfort zone and obviously loved Giants, but I feel like since I've moved here nearly every day I've been out of my comfort zone in some way. "Taking on a leadership position that's really new to me and I'm so excited to learn and grow but there's a lot of learnings I've got to make in the next few months. All the girls have been amazing and supportive, and the club has been so supportive - we're going to see Steven Bartlett [entrepreneur and best-selling author] speak on Friday. "On the court to have Richo [assistant coach Nicole Richardson] there next to me every day, I can't even fathom the knowledge she has in her head and to be able to get that top, top level specialist defensive coaching, I honestly pinch myself, it's such a privilege. "In terms of growth, I'm pushing myself and learning different things and that's really all I was after regardless of what else happens. "That's what the move was for."
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