The first change the Steel needs to make is to stop making so many changes.
The franchise underwent wholesale changes during the off-season. New management, coaching staff and a radically different playing roster meant this season was always going to be a rebuilding year.
Pregnancy sidelined experienced mid-courter Wendy Frew, and Courtney Tairi's season-ending knee injury (round seven) did not help, either. Her passing and ability to find the shooters was sorely missed.
But the Steel set itself the realistic goal of making the top six and fell well short, finishing one spot ahead of the last-placed Tactix courtesy of a superior goal percentage.
The season started so promisingly. The Steel stunned the Magic and silenced its critics with a 49-47 win in the opening round of the tournament.
Co-coaches Janine Southby and Natalie Avellino beamed with pride but the following week the Steel lost to the Central Pulse in Napier and, in hindsight, there were signs pointing to the impending struggle.
A win against the Tactix in Christchurch in round three helped paper over the cracks.
But that paper wore thinner each week with the franchise losing its last 10 games - its worst losing streak.
With just two wins from 13 games, the campaign was by any reckoning a dismal failure.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect was the Steel got worse, not better. If there were any signs the team was improving, they were certainly not obvious, with heavy losses to the Magic (66-47), Mystics (60-49), Swifts (55-42) and Vixens (56-38) coming in the last five weeks.
The round-nine loss to the Central Pulse in Dunedin was a turning point. Until that point the combined Otago-Southland team had been competitive.
There was no disgrace in the dramatic one-goal loss to the Queensland Firebirds in round eight, or the four-goal loss to the Mystics a week earlier. In fact the Steel showed great character to get back into those contests after making sluggish starts.
The 10-goal loss to the Thunderbirds in Adelaide was also not without merit.
But the Steel's fate was perhaps, in part, decided before the first centre pass. The off-season was a tumultuous one with changes throughout the organisation.
The controversial decision to advertise the coaching position resulted in a changing of the guard, with revered coach Robyn Broughton popping up in Wellington and leading the Pulse to much-improved results.
She had the satisfaction of recording two wins against the Steel, a team she helped mould for four years.
In January, Australian David Bannister replaced Julie Paterson as chief executive and arrived in Invercargill to controversy after suggesting the franchise might be better served relocating to Dunedin. It did not go down well.
The playing roster was markedly different, with just Hayley Saunders, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Sheryl Scanlan returning from the side which placed seventh in 2011. Frew had planned to return but became pregnant and was replaced by Phillipa Finch.
The scoring responsibilities fell to experienced shooters Donna Wilkins and Jodi Brown.
Wilkins was superb every week and Brown's passing was an asset even when her shooting was not.
Australian Demelza McCloud carried a green-looking defensive end which included rising star Storm Purvis.
The midcourt lost a lot of its sting when Tairi was ruled out.
In her absence there did not seem to be a good option at wing attack, other than Brown, who was needed in the shooting circle, or Shannon Francois, who was preferred at centre.
If the Steel is going to make any personnel changes it will probably be in the midcourt.
There is no point having a quality shooter like Wilkins if you cannot get the ball to her.
There is no way to dress up a season which included 10 straight losses. But more changes and starting from scratch is not the answer.
The Steel's financial position helped the franchise reach the decision to go with younger players and to build for the future. That plan can only be successful by retaining the core of the squad.
For the fifth straight season, the Magic is through to the transtasman league play-offs.
Last night's 10-goal win over the defending champion Queensland Firebirds was the Magic's ninth on the trot.
The win boosted the Magic in to third place on the ladder, earning the side the right to host the Thunderbirds - the team it demolished by 17 goals last week - in next Monday's sudden-death final.
Southern Steel
2012 season
Record
• Played 13, won 2, lost 11
• Goals for 639, goals against 728
Shooting
• Steel 639/775 (82.4%)
• Donna Wilkins 314/348 (90.2%)
• Jodi Brown 263/342 (76.9%)
• Te Paea Selby-Rickit 62/85 (72.9%)
Awards
• Best performance: Stunning the Magic 49-47 in the opening game of the season.
• Worst performance: The 18-goal drubbing by the Vixens completed a miserable campaign for the home side.
• MVP: Wilkins is still one of the best shooters in world netball.
• Honourable mention: Australian defender Demelza McCloud gave her all.
• Underachiever: Retiring defender Sheryl Scanlan has not offered much on court for the past few seasons.
