There is a lot to do before the Steel's opening ANZ Championship game against the Northern Mystics early next month.
But having your flaws exposed during the pre-season is not necessarily a bad result, she said.
The Steel played three pre-season games in Ashburton during the weekend and the results were, well, mixed.
The Steel lost 61-49 to the New Zealand Men but split its games against Mainland Tactix, winning 64-47 on Saturday but losing 60-54 yesterday.
‘‘It exposed us to the areas we need to work on,'' Taurua responded when asked how well she thought the games went.
‘‘Our links between the inside of the circle and the outside were fragmented. I think also our ability to execute when we were under pressure and still look in control is another area that needs work.
‘‘It seems like quite a few things that were exposed. But that is what these pre-season games are about.''
She was not completely happy with the defence either, complaining that tactix shooter Mwai Kumwenda found too much space.
But then Taurua tested out different combinations during the weekend, so there is only so much that can be read into yesterday's loss.
‘‘Obviously, teams don't like losing. But sometimes you have to learn the hard way. But it is very clear for me now what we need to do next time.''
The Steel will play the newly formed Netball South national league team in Queenstown on March 12. It will also compete at the Summer Shootout in Auckland from March 18-20 before opening its ANZ Championship campaign.‘
‘There is time in one respect but we need to ensure we take the opportunity to be very specific and focused in what we need to achieve,'' Taurua said.
Steel captain Wendy Frew had a similar take on the team's work during the weekend.
‘‘Coming into the weekend, we knew it wasn't going to be perfect and that certainly was the case,'' she said.‘‘But it's good to have a base to build on from here.
‘‘There were some really good aspects to our performances and all 12 players got valuable game time.
‘‘Everyone is certainly putting their hand up for the starting seven and that's exactly what you want in pre-season - everyone battling hard out for it.''
● Netball South beat Mainland 44-39 in Ashburton on Saturday but lost 51-36 in yesterday's rematch.
