West Coast Fever captain Courtney Bruce is emerging as Australia’s best hope to reclaim its mantle as a world netball powerhouse.

Without a full-time captain, having lost the Constellation Cup for the first time since 2012 earlier this year and looking to regain gold at the Commonwealth Games (2022) and World Cup (2023) from England and New Zealand, Bruce’s career-best form could not have come at a better time for a Diamonds team entering a new era.

The 27-year-old tore apart Collingwood as Fever claimed their sixth-consecutive win to start the Super Netball season with a dominant 78-55 win at Ken Rosewall Arena on Saturday.

Bruce had an amazing 11 gains (one more than Collingwood), 10 deflections and five interceptions, with her defensive performance seeing in-form Magpies shooter Shimona Nelson benched in the second term and held to just 40 goals.

Her performance was not missed by fans on social media, with some calling for her to be the next captain of the Diamonds.

In a scary proposition for opposition shooters, Bruce believes she’s can yet go to another level.

“It was a good one. I think there was still a lot of opportunities for me to come out even more,” she said.

“I’m happy but I still think I’ve got better games in me.”

Bruce did acknowledge though she knew when she was in that sort of form.

“It feels like you’re in a sense of flow. Feels like I’ve got all the time in the world,” she said.

“I can see the ball, I know what's going to happen and I kind of know what plays going to come next.

“When I’m in the zone like that it’s pretty fun to play that way.”

Fever not only notched the season’s highest score but also claimed the biggest Super Netball win to date , despite coming off off just a five-day break, having defeated the Giants by a goal at RAC Arena on Monday.

They now have an eight-day break before they take on the Queensland Firebirds, who have got the better of Fever in three of their past five clashes.

Should they win though, Fever would’ve defeated every side in the competition, with five of the games away from home.

This sets them up strongly for a run at the finals despite starting the season three games in arrears, with five of their final seven games at their fortress of RAC Arena.

“We knew we had the potential to start this well and play this well,” Bruce said.

“We’ve had a few close games in the first couple of weeks and I guess this was a real dominant performance for us, but there’s so much belief among this group of what we’re capable of.

“We feel like we’ve got the 10 to do it and I think it’s a good thing we saw all 10 players out on the court in both games this week. And that’s the real strength of this group.”