After a string of off-season changes to the Spirit’s roster, Snell will arguably be the club’s most potent offensive threat when they start their season in Queensland on Friday night.

Snell enters this season refreshed mentally and physically and, with the Rio Olympics less than one year away, she has plenty to play for.

The three-time Olympian has youngsters snapping at her heels for her Opals squad berth and she admitted she needs a strong WNBL season to maintain her spot in the national side.

“Last year we had the world championships and then one week before the WNBL season started,’’ Snell said on Tuesday.

“This year we had a break after the Oceania Championships and I’ve been able to train with the Spirit for about four weeks.

“Personally, I’m feeling good. I want to have a good season with the Spirit. The Olympics will depend on how well I play in the WNBL.”

Snell said the Spirit faced a steep learning curve under new coach Simon Pritchard.

“There’s a lot of new faces, so it’s been nice to have that time to get to know each other a lot better,’’ she said.

“The three practice games have been good and we’ve learned a lot from those games.

“Simon has introduced some new things to the team and we’re getting better all the time.”

The Spirit faces a daunting assignment first-up.

They play new team South East Queensland in Brisbane on Friday night before backing up against defending champions Townsville in Townsville on Saturday night.

“Everyone is excited and ready to go,’’ Snell said.

“It’s going to be a huge challenge having a doubleheader in Queensland, but we’re confident we’ll play well.

“Townsville are the team to beat and SEQ have put together a very strong line-up, so it will be a good test for us.”