The Lightning's fourth place on the ladder is under siege after being blown away by title favourites Hume City Falcons by 22 goals at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.

Lightning coach Joy Grubb understands the importance of the coming month in the context of the season. "We're under the pump now," she said.

The Falcons wasted little time finding their feet and opened up a seven-goal lead by the first break.

Constantly under pressure, Lightning goal defence Fiona Themann answered the challenge on the last line to stem the flow of ball into the Falcons' attack.

The Lightning worked back into the contest on the back of swift ball movement from captain Danni Stewart and wing attack Kelsey Browne to ensure no further damage by half-time.

"Their workload was what got us back into it because they kept feeding the ball to the attack end," Grubb said.

What happened after the break is a mystery to them.

The Falcons flicked the switch to pile on 18-4 in the third and kill off the game as a contest.

The Lightning was powerless to stop the onslaught. "The third quarter from our point of view didn't exist," Grubb said.

The only positive Grubb could take from the night was the fourth quarter.

Goal shooter Sophie O'Shea was a late ray of light coming off the bench to shoot nine from 10, improving Lightning's goal percentage considerably after Julia Knott (16-of-21) and Olivia Cameron (11-of-21) misfired earlier in the game.

Lightning faces the North East Blaze in a crucial round 10 battle on Wednesday at the SNHC.