The debuts of new signings Jodie Gibson and Ine-Mari Venter gave Saracens Mavericks just the boost they needed to return to winning ways in the Netball Superleague.
The Hatfield side's last outing at Studio 001 in Wakefield had been a big loss to Loughborough Lightning.
But with South African international Venter hitting nothing but net early on and Gibson showing her explosive defensive prowess, Mavs roared to a comfortable 61-41 success.
And while the pair only lasted until half-time, 10 minutes less than centre Gabs Marshall who was making her first start since picking up a knock, director of netball Kat Ratnapala is beginning to see a light at the end of the injury tunnel.
Speaking to Sky Sports she said: "Jodie Gibson is one of the most formidable athletes I have ever met.
"She is so driven and so hard-working. It is full credit to all the England medical staff for getting her back on court.
"She is such a passionate person and I am made up for her.
"Ine-Mari has been training with us but has been in and out of isolation.
"It was great to have back and we haven’t had a lot of time together in training.
"I’m just looking forward to this week. Jo Trip should be back from concussion and I am hopeful I will have my core 15 back and we can solidify some of the stuff from tonight."
It wasn't all plain sailing but another plus point was the competition for places made for an excellent final quarter, with the likes of Sasha Corbin, Chloe Essam and Brit Clarke, brought on at GS for Venter, all providing extra drive.
Player of the match Georgia Lees said: "It’s really exciting to have [Jodie Gibson and Ine-Mari Venter] back in with us and on the court.
"That's fantastic and then to have the option to bring Brit Clarke on and kill it, we’re really happy with that.
"We were disappointed with our opening few weeks and we really wanted to have a strong game.
"We dipped off in quarter two and we said at half-time that wasn’t good enough.
We need to be finishing off these performances and I’m glad we did that in the fourth."
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