The Adelaide Thunderbirds' stranglehold over Super Netball has endured into a third season after the premiers thumped the Sunshine Coast Lightning 60-45 at Uni SC Arena.
Only two games into a new campaign it was clear little had changed as veteran shooter Romelda Aiken-George anchored herself to the post and shot the two-time defending champions to consecutive victories with 40 goals.
After a tense start, the Thunderbirds ground the home side into dust with defensive pressure from which they could not escape.
Defender Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, while quiet in the opening term, led a defensive team with 12 gains.
Partnered with the equally outstanding Matilda Garrett, the Thunderbirds kept the Sunshine Coast's scoring conversion from centre passes to a dismal 56 per cent.
"We knew Sunshine Coast would come out with the best performance but it looks like we've picked up where we left off last season," Sterling-Humphrey told FoxSports.
The Lightning, who strangely left in form defender Ashleigh Ervin on the bench for much of the second half, have some immediate questions to resolve.
After a promising start, shooters Steph Fretwell (18 goals), Cara Koenen (13 goals) and Reilly Batcheldor (seven goals) failed to consistently open up the attack end.
For the first quarter at least, the Lightning did a commendable job of keeping Thunderbirds matchwinner Sterling-Humphrey out of the limelight.
Bar a couple of rebounds, Sterling-Humphrey had minimal impact.
Fretwell and Koenen's movement and fast, precise feeds from the midcourt meant the Jamaican had few opportunities to shut down the Lightning attack.
There was a glut of positional changes in the second quarter from both teams but it was the Thunderbirds' switches that made the most impact.
Deflection by deflection, the South Australians wrestled control of the game and crept to a six-goal lead midway through the quarter.
The injection of goal keeper Ervin and a pair of two-point super shots from Batcheldor were the only factors that enabled the home side to stay in touch with Adelaide at halftime.
Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds continued using all her interchange options in the third quarter but few of them worked.
