And if the 33-year-old Sydney-sider can lead the Steel to the play-offs of the inaugural ANZ championship, she is sure to be embraced by the region as a true blue Southerner.
The experienced shooter racked up 20 caps for Australia and helped the Swifts win three national titles in her nine seasons with the team.
But after nearly a decade of playing with the same people and training in the same way, Dehn decided her netball was stale and she opted to join the Force in 2006 in the now defunct National Bank Cup.
When that competition was replaced by the transtasman competition, Dehn faced a dilemma - rejoin the Sydney-based Swifts or continue playing her netball in New Zealand.
She opted for the latter and leaped at the opportunity to link up with champion coach Robyn Broughton at the Steel.
‘‘I had a good long think about it because I did have the opportunity to play for the Swifts as well,'' she admitted.
‘‘But I just decided that I really like the New Zealand style of play".
‘‘The money is a little bit better in New Zealand but it definitely wasn't the deciding factor. For me, at this stage of my career, enjoyment is the main thing.
‘‘I decided that I had been with the Swifts nine years before I went to the Force and just needed something different to put the spark back in my netball.''
Dehn is living in Sydney and commuting for the transtasman competition.
She is looking forward to playing at Stadium Southland with the crowd behind her for a change.
The cauldron has been a graveyard for visiting sides and the support from netball-mad fans creates an atmosphere which Dehn quantifies as ‘‘worth at least five goals for the home team''.
‘‘The support down there is just fantastic. The crowd is just amazing and there is support everywhere you go in the town.
‘‘It will be intimidating for the Australian teams to be fronted with such a vocal crowd".
The Steel's campaign begins with an away game against Dehn's old side the Swift in Sydney on April 7. It will be like a home game for Dehn, who has family and friends coming along to support her and, she hopes, the team.
The match is being billed as the clash of the titans. Both sides won their national competitions last season and will be keen to start the new competition on a positive note.
On paper, though, Dehn believes the Melbourne Vixens and the Adelaide Thunderbirds look the strongest of the Australian teams and the Northern Mystics and the Waikato Magic the best of the New Zealand sides.
But do not write off the Steel, she warned.
‘‘We don't have the Silver Ferns in our team like the Mystics or the Magic but I think we've got a really good solid team. And, I think, in this competition, it will be about team work and who can be smart and learn how to cope with opposition strategies".
‘‘We've got enough experience to cope with that and I think we'll definitely be up in the top four".
Then there is the Robyn Broughton factor. Broughton led the Sting to 10 finals in 10 years and secured seven titles.
It is a phenomenal record and one which helped Dehn make the decision to play for the Steel.
‘‘From my observations, she is very thorough and she does her homework on the opposition. It is a pretty amazing record to make 10 finals and win seven of them.
‘‘She has an amazing ability to get the best out of every player.'
