On the back of an outstanding 2019, punctuated by winning the NSW Premier League under-23 title with the GWS Fury, the Gunnedah-raised goal attack had come into 2020 with some big aspirations. And she was well on her way to achieving them.

And she was well on her way to achieving them.

"2020 for me started out so well. I felt like this was going to be the year I started ticking off some of those goals. Nationals were coming up, we were coming off a win in the premier league which was incredible," Perkins said.

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She had also been doing some training with the Swifts academy, which was an "incredible" experience.

"I got asked to come to their training sessions when I made the [NSW under-19s] side for nationals so I've been doing four sessions a week with them with gym and courtwork," she said.

"My first session I thought I was going to die it was so hard but I just loved it.

Some of the Swifts players ran sessions with them, and she even got to do a match play session with them.

"Just having that level of coaching,and playing with girls that were at that level and that experience level was just awesome," Perkins said.

But then coronavirus hit and turned everything on it's head.

Perkins waded the lockdown out back in Gunnedah, and is hoping to head back to Sydney in the next couple of weeks.

She will do so with an even stronger resolve to keep working hard, the time away only reinforcing to the 19-year that this (netball) is what she wants to do.

"I think coming back to Gunnedah and training on my old courts, where it all kind of started, it's really pushed me and pushed me to want to do it and be named in those squads and prove myself out on that court," she said.

Perkins initially resented the situation - she "wasn't happy for everything to just stop" - but said it has been really good for her.

"All my family's back home together so it's been really nice to have that time together and just get on top of training, get on top of uni," she said.

She has been using the time to refine her game, doing daily sessions at the courts, as well as online sessions with the Fury and Swifts academy, and a lot of fitness work.

"I've been still shooting every day so I really want to come back and be really accurate," she said.

"I [also] want to be fitter when I come back than anyone else on the court."

Itching to get back out on the court again, when she will be able to is still up in the air with the NSW government yet to make an announcement on a return date for senior community competitions.