She has returned fitter, more dynamic and a more influential presence at the Southern Steel's defensive end.
That form has helped the 21-year-old reclaim her starting spot - she has worn the goal defence bib in each of the six games this season.
She will hope to build on that tomorrow against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Auckland tomorrow.
A year ago she had seemed poised to make the spot her own, before Courtney Elliott surpassed her midway through the season.
That ignited a spark in Erwood.
It was not losing the starting spot that bothered her - she said Elliott had earned her promotion.
However, she felt she had not kicked on the way she hoped to with her own game.
"I think I was more just disappointed in myself that my performance hadn't improved and that had happened," she said.
"But Courtney came in and she definitely proved a point and played well and out of her skin so she deserved that starting line-up with Hoochie [Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit].
"I definitely had to do a few things in the off-season.
"I'm happy with where I'm at but still lots to do and improve on to keep that position."
Those "few things" had made for a hectic, although enjoyable, time over summer.
As the season was starting so early, Erwood had just two months to prepare before the team regathered.
She secured a job on a dairy farm in Invercargill and fitted in runs and weights sessions around that.
The work was a good outlet from netball.
Having grown up on a farm, she always looked forward to getting back and "having some fun".
Even during the season she tries to return to her South Otago home to lend a hand at times.
Fitting in the extra training clearly made a difference.
Erwood returned to the Steel and set some personal-bests in her fitness testing.
It was that she felt had helped lift her game.
However, continuing to improve remains her focus.
Having depth in the squad helped with that, both from an individual and a team perspective.
"I think it's good in the team in general that it is a team of 10.
"So at trainings you're actually pushing each other to work harder for the benefit of the team going into the games, but also for yourself.
"So you're battling it off but its actually making the team as a whole better."
The Steel will look to use that mentality to bounce back from Monday night's loss against the Central Pulse.
Erwood said the side had been happy with parts of the game, although it was looking to fix a few of the finer things.
Picking up a bonus point had been key and leaves the Steel second on the table, two points ahead of the Northern Stars.
Steel v Magic
Auckland, Sunday, 6.10pm
Steel: Gina Crampton, Shannon Saunders, Kate Heffernan, Kendall McMinn, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Lenize Potgieter, Jennifer O’Connell, Abby Erwood, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, Courtney Elliott.
Magic: Samantha Sinclair, Ariana Cable-Dixon, Sydney Fraser, Simmon Howe, Lisa Mather, Casey Kopua, Kelly Jury, Monica Falkner, Kelsey McPhee, Abigail Latu-Meafou, Jenna O’Sullivan.
