The Steel looked like it needed a good shake last Saturday and it got it on Wednesday with an intense training session.
Having given its best impression of a drowsy teenager crawling out of bed on a school morning with their disappointing loss to the Pulse in Napier last weekend, the team was due a shake up.
Co-coaches Natalie Avellino and Janine Southby exacted a little coaching revenge with a physical training session mid-week.
"Some of the girls weren't too happy with the training we had on Wednesday," Avellino said.
"It was scrappy at times but the intensity was really good.
"It was very competitive and they left nothing out there.
"They went hard-out and the players are playing for positions on court so the intensity was huge."
While not wanting to dwell on the flat performance against the Pulse, Avellino said the short turnaround coupled with the excitement of beating the Magic in the opening round had conspired to zap the Steel of some its vitality.
"We lacked a bit of intensity and drive in attack all the way down the court.
"So we needed to really work on that, because it was very clear we were very dominant through court when we played the Magic but it was lacking and we had no spark in our movement against the Pulse.
That has been the key thing we've been working on."
Fans can expect more energy against the Canterbury Tactix in Christchurch tomorrow night.
The Tactix discovered some resolve with a fighting win against the New South Wales Swifts on Monday.
But with all due respect to the Tactix, there are much harder opponents ahead and it is a game the Steel would have pencilled in for a win.
Steel shooter Donna Wilkins has said her side would need to be wary of a much-improved Tactix unit and Avellino agreed.
"They are a physical team and had a good win against the Swifts.
"They certainly look a lot more aggressive and intense and we noticed that when we played them in the pre-season tournament. We need to be ready for that."
The Steel's prospects will hinge on the combination between captain Jodi Brown and Donna Wilkins in the shooting circle.
The experienced duo linked well in the opening match against the Magic but were not as slick in the loss to the Pulse.
Both appear more comfortable in the goal attack position but have been sharing the load at goal shoot with Wilkins starting there and moving to goal attack in the second half.
"We haven't really made a firm decision for this weekend's game whether we start the same or swap them.
"Donna played [at goal shoot] against the Tactix in the pre-season and was quite strong, so we'll have a look at them again in training and see how they have pulled up."
Wilkins is making her way back to full fitness after giving birth to her third child in January and is missing some zip around court.
She has still been able to play every minute, and her shooting has been top class with 62 goals from 68 attempts (91.2%).
Brown, by contrast, is looking as fit as she has for several years but is still finding her range with 29 goals from 43 attempts (67.4%).
She will need to lift her accuracy with promising shooters Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Ashleigh Smith eager for opportunities.
Neither has seen any game time this season with defender Louise Thayer the only other player yet to get on court.
