The sides have a crucial game in Brisbane on Monday which could decide who clinches fourth spot and a place in the ANZ Championship semifinals.
The Steel is fourth, with a two-point buffer over the Firebirds, in fifth place.
The Steel could lose the match and still progress to the play-offs but the Firebirds are treating the game as a must-win, McCloud said.
"We are not out of the race yet. We just have to make sure we get up over those Southland girls. They are the team that is our barrier to getting into the top four," McCloud said.
The 1.88m defender played for the Otago Rebels in the defunct National Bank Cup and linked up with former Rebels team-mates Jodi Brown, Anna Thompson and Phillipa Finch at the Canterbury Tactix last season.
Those same team-mates got one over her last week when the Tactix scored a surprise 53-46 win over the Firebirds.
"I joked with them after the game that I was proud of the Rebels.
"I've got some really special friendships from my time in Dunedin. But I definitely wanted to have the bragging rights. I love sticking it to those girls."
McCloud was happy with the Tactix but wanted to sign with a franchise closer to her home in Adelaide.
The Adelaide Thunderbirds were stacked with quality defenders, including internationals Geva Mentor and Mo'onia Gerrard.
So McCloud grasped the lifeline offered by the Firebirds but has found competition for places just as tough, with Peta Stephens and Laura Geitz also competing for starting spots.
"We bash it out with each other but that only makes the team stronger at the end of the day."
The Firebirds defence's next job has been made easier with Wipiiti unavailable for the rest of the season.
But that also gives the Steel's attack end an unknown quality, McCloud said.
"We think they will be a bit more mobile in their forward line now. We're not sure where they will play Donna [Wilkins] but we just have to make sure we attack the ball and are ready."
Former squad member Megan Dehn has replaced Wipiiti.
Whether she takes the court, or back-up shooters Julianna Naoupu or Leah Shoard get the nod, only coach Robyn Broughton knows.
While the Steel will have to adapt quickly down the attack end, the Firebirds will also have to be more versatile.
The Queensland side has been criticised for being too one-dimensional.
Jamaican Romelda Aiken has been shouldering the shooting duties and, if the Steel's defence can stop her, the team has a good opportunity to open New Zealand's account on Australian soil.
No New Zealand franchise has had a win across the Tasman, and the last time the Steel was in Australia it came unstuck against an inexperienced West Coast Fever side.
