Noakes said Otago, although losing in the final 10 minutes to Wellington, did play well for most of the game, and the team was looking to build on that when it plays Southland at Carisbrook on Friday night.
"We've got guys out wide who are real attacking weapons and then in the midfield we showed last Friday night we can open them up there," he said.
"We went into the game against Wellington needing to show our attack, and that is what we did.
"You're not going to beat a team like Wellington if you don't attack.
"It's certainly going to be very physical on Friday night.
"But there is some confidence within the team this year and a good feeling among the guys."
Noakes (24) had an off night with the boot on Friday night, only kicking three from eight, and was especially disappointed with his kicking performance.
Not that it was for a lack of practice.
"We went to the stadium the day before and I was hitting them all right.
"But unfortunately it was a perfect day, not a breath of wind.
"I got out there early [on Friday night] and had a few kicks and they were going over.
"The most frustrating thing was that they were not missing by much."
Noakes said the wind at the ground was very hard to read, and moving just 5m would mean the wind was moving in a different direction.
"It was disappointing I was unable to do better.
"I pride myself on being a good goalkicker.
"It is something I have always done and I'm enjoying being the kicker."
Noakes said the side in its debrief yesterday had dwelled on the positives from the performance, and wanted to maintain those for the tough game this week.
"Certainly, every once in a while this week there'll be a tick in the head as to what might have been.
"You don't want to but that is how it happened."
Noakes, originally from Auckland, said he met friends and family after the game on Friday and that helped getting over the loss, and he said it was good to have so much Otago support at the game in Wellington.
He felt his game had improved from last year and he had bulked up, adding 5kg.
"The way the game is going with the 5m back from the scrum, a lot of teams like to attack through the No 10 channel.
"So you have to be a good defender there.
"You can't really hide anymore."
Now into his third year of first-class rugby with Otago, Noakes said his game was evolving and he was striking up a good combination with halfback Sean Romans.
"Every year you just get that bit more confidence and that comes from experience.
"Just learning off guys around you who have been there longer than you have.
"As you go higher in the game, it goes up in levels of intensity."
In his sixth year of study at the University of Otago, Noakes hopes to complete law and commerce degrees by finishing his final three papers at the end of this semester.
