The Edenhope-Apsley export was a member of the Vixens squad that reigned supreme in a 2020 netball season like no other.

McDonald and her teammates left Victoria as the second COVID-19 wave gripped the state, eventually winning the title on the 93^rd day of living in a Queensland hub.

"For me, I learnt a lot about learning how to cope with challenges and living with other people and all the skills we're faced with when we're not at home in a regular season," McDonald said.

"I learnt plenty of stuff on court, just experiencing training and match day and what we wouldn't get back in Victoria in other years. I think off court was more important; we learnt a lot about ourselves.

"From a team perspective the actual team grew a lot and we learnt what didn't work in previous years, and I think the biggest thing on court was the relationships we built off the court and the hub actually provided that and gave us a bit of an advantage."

While court time was hard to find last season, the rising star absorbed as much knowledge as she could in the hub - particularly from retiring Vixens stalwarts Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip.

"I think next year is going to look really different to what this year looked like and I think that will be a real positive for us," McDonald said.

"It's going to be really hard not having Caity and Tegan around, but that means there's space for new girls to come in and I'm excited to learn off different people and experience a new-look Vixens team.

"I've communicated a lot with the Vixens coaches about the specifics of what I really want to work on, and on court there's some things I'm really looking forward to and developing even further and working alongside the new girls."

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