Saracens Mavericks made it two wins from two at the start of the new Netball Superleague season but they still haven't come close to their top gear according to Kat Ratnapala.

The director of netball at the Hatfield-based club watched as her side followed up a comfortable 54-40 win over Surrey Storm by edging a gritty battle against league newcomers Leeds Rhinos 43-39.

The contest was a physical battle from start to finish with Leeds coming off worse in the exchanges, losing goal-shooter Donnell Wallam among a trio who didn't see out the game.

And while the lead changed hands constantly throughout the game, it was the Mavs who were ahead at each of the three breaks before closing out the win.

Ratnapala, already without the likes of England internationals Gabs Marshall and new South African shooter Ine-Mari Venter, was just pleased to get through it with the win and the rest of her team unscathed.

Speaking to Sky Sports, she said: "I’m just pleased that I’ve got 12 players who are still on their feet and we can walk away ready for the next game.

"Netball is a physical game and as much as everyone say it is non-contact, it isn’t.

"We had a bit of a chat with the umpires just to understand their reasoning and rationale. We need to learn from it and adjust to what’s happening on court.

"We didn’t do that enough."

The boss cut an almost irritated figure at the end, in spite of the three points that lifts Sarries to second in the early table, and worryingly for the rest of the competition, she says she will still be looking for much more from her charges when they face Loughborough Lightning on Sunday.

She said: "We are in a good place and they are an amazing bunch of players.

"It was great to get Bella Baylis out there and Brit Clarke did another fantastic job.

"We had some debuts and it was Georgia Lees birthday so there are plenty of things to celebrate.

"You’re never satisfied and are always looking for more but we’ll take the two wins."