The local outfit goes into battle with Coffs Harbour in the competition’s major semi-final at Macquarie Park, with the winner securing the home court advantage in the season finale on July 4.

In the minor showdown, Nambucca faces Taree with the loser being eliminated.

So far in 2009, the Onyx is yet to taste defeat and inspirational goal shooter Melissa Bowler is hoping to keep it that way tomorrow.

“We’ve played well this season, but there is always pressure when you’ve gone through unbeaten,” she explained.

“Plus, we’d like to host the final series, which adds to the tension.

“However, we have some good form on the board.

“We went great at the 2009 Holden State Championships last weekend.

“The side only lost five games out of 22 and finished sixth overall in the open division.

“The girls were challenged by the Metro teams – and the strong competition allowed us to play at a higher level and test ourselves under high-pressure situations.

“It was a terrific weekend for us.

“But, although it was a good preparation for tomorrow’s semi-final, we suffered a few injuries following three days of hard netball.”

One huge blow for the Onyx is the loss of Alana van der Linden.

“Alana will miss the rest of the Premier League,” Bowler said.

“She did her knee, a suspected torn ACL joint, on the last day of the State Championships.”

And, while the State Championships are different to the Premier League on a representative scale, the intensity between tomorrow’s combatants is no less dissimilar.

“Even though I didn’t play in our previous outing, the girls got off to a great start and finished strongly,” Bowler admitted.

“Hopefully, we can do that again tomorrow.

“The plan is to take the lead early and maintain it throughout.

“Coffs Harbour will look to rattle us – they have a strong shooting combination and can be accurate from a distance.

“In saying that, we have a wonderful group of girls who put in 100 per cent when they step onto the court.

“We all back each other up and can count on one another.

“Kate MacInnes gained some terrific experience up front at the State Championships.

“The mid-court of Kate Lister, Emily Lewis and Larissa Matheson gives the team flexibility.

“Larissa is feeding the shooters beautifully, Emily really stepped up during last weekend’s tournament while Kate relies on her agility to get around her opposition.

“Rochelle Foran played beyond her 17 years at the State Championships and took an amazing amount of intercepts.

“She is able to play in the mid-court as well as defence.

“Naomi Haylett, Kellie Mann and Shannon Noble will look to shut down Coffs’ shooters.

“The three of them have really concentrated on tight defence.”

The Onyx-Coffs encounter takes place at 2pm.