The Lightning were beaten 50-40 by the Southern Saints on Wednesday night at the State Netball and Hockey Centre.

They now have a mountain to climb if they harbour ambitions of reaching the finals.

"It's going to be a challenge and a half," she said.

"The biggest problem is we still have to play one and two on the ladder."

The Lightning were desperate to claim a major scalp - the Saints.

The pre-game news was not good with star player Brooke Thompson missing with a virus.

They rushed youngster Lynsey Cook into the team as cover.

"She'd never played at that level or experienced that type of netball before," Grubb said.

The Lightning made an impressive start to lead by one at quarter-time. The second quarter was where it turned pear-shaped for the Lightning.

"They were scoring fairly freely," Grubb said.

"We shuffled right, left and centre in that second quarter and didn't make any inroads."

The eight-goal half-time deficit was too much for the undermanned Lightning to bridge.

They fell further behind in the third term before winning the last.

"It was a tragic night," Grubb said. "In netball, you have to have strength in every position on the court. We were hit again with injuries and illness, unfortunately.

The Lightning will clash with Monash University Central in Knox on Saturday at 7.40pm.