Shooters are a netball team's greatest asset. Shed them like lizards shed skin, and you end up in a flaky heap - just like the Steel.
The combined Otago-Southland team will not appreciate being described in such terms, but the reality is it has lost three of its four games by 15 or more goals and had a flimsy two-goal win against the perennially struggling Central Pulse.
It has been bleak, especially when you consider it is essentially the same team which reached the playoffs last season.
Six of the seven players who started in the minor semifinal against the Magic still form the core of the Steel.
Goal attack Megan Dehn is the only player missing, but what a player. In her absence the Steel's attack end has stumbled, fumbled and groped around, looking every bit like a high school team.
Dehn should have never been allowed to escape the Steel's clutches. The franchise made a huge tactical blunder when it gambled on the former Australian international securing New Zealand citizenship and filled its import slot with centre Natasha Chokljat.
That left no way back for Dehn when she ran into difficulties with her citizenship application. She was forced to look for opportunities elsewhere and eventually signed with the Mystics.
It was a bitter blow for Steel coach Robyn Broughton, who has been outspoken about her desire to secure Dehn's services first before looking to shore up the midcourt. Broughton and the Steel management were clearly at odds over the franchise's strategic direction.
Losing Dehn was bad enough, but in a double blow the Steel also lost back-up shooter Julianna Naoupu. Broughton had been nurturing Naoupu's talents for three years, drip feeding her opportunities when possible.
The Steel tried hard to keep Naoupu, but she wanted more court time and was lured away by the Magic and the prospect of playing alongside Silver Ferns shooter Irene van Dyk.
The irony, of course, is had she stayed with the Steel she would almost certainly be starting each game ahead of the misfiring Paula Griffin.
Naoupu displayed safe hands and accurate shooting to help her new side secure a dramatic overtime win against the Tactix on Monday night. She landed 37 from 40 attempts, outshining van Dyk, who drilled 26 from 27.
The other big blow for the Steel was Donna Wilkins' decision to sever ties with the franchise at the end of the 2009 season. Wilkins and Broughton formed one of the most successful player-coach unions when they combined to win seven titles in 10 years with the Sting.
Broughton's relationship with Wilkins remains intact. Wilkins' issue was with management and a perceived lack of support for her situation as a new mother.
Whether it is mismanagement or bad fortune, the Steel has shed three quality shooters and finds itself in a situation where the combination between shooters Daneka Wipiiti and Griffin is not working and there is simply no other option but to persist.
Each week we are told combinations take time, and each week they are as disappointing as the last. In terms of the top line-up, though, Griffin is the only new face. So it is hard to understand how the side is not gelling as it should.
While a team's ills do not come down to just one player, Griffin needs to get more involved. How long will it be before people draw the conclusion that, perhaps, the former Silver Fern is just not up to it? She is on her third franchise in four years. That is a few chances.
Bring back Dehn. Bring back Naoupu. Bring back Wilkins. Bring back somebody.
