Southern Steel coach Robyn Broughton says her side has made significant progress and shooter Daneka Wipiiti has slipped right back into the groove.
The Steel finished the pre-season tournament in Queenstown yesterday with a 54-50 win over an Australian Institute of Sport team.
On Saturday, the Steel beat the Central Pulse 64-53 then drew 50-50 with the Firebirds, after being ahead by 12 goals.
On the first day of the tournament, the side was beaten 56-48 by the Firebirds before beating the Mystics 64-62.
Broughton said the scores were not a high priority throughout the weekend, which was about getting some court time and sorting out combinations.
She was pleased with the performance of her front-liners, with the likes of Liana Barrett-Chase and Wendy Frew to the fore.
Wipiiti was quick around the circle when she played and had a fine shooting percentage.
She damaged some ribs in the game with the Firebirds on Saturday and was forced to leave the field, but Broughton felt the injury was not too serious.
The other new mother in the side, Leana de Bruin, was also impressive, Broughton said.
Steel captain Megan Dehn returned on Saturday after attending a funeral in Australia but was forced off against the Firebirds, and Broughton said the travel may have caught up with her.
She said it was "intense, physical netball" and it was hard to play five games in three days, and bodies were looking weary by yesterday.
"It's a tournament were you can try different combinations and where you don't really play your fixed line-ups that often.
"With the way the game is now, with so much more physical contact, it is a big ask for a lot of the girls to play that many games in three days."
She said the draw with the Firebirds came down to a bad run of play and a loss of concentration.
"You can't afford to have those.
Many games had ebbs and flows in them during the weekend."
She said the newcomers to the squad would be all the better for the tournament, and they now knew what was expected of them.
The Steel had still to welcome back defender Sheryl Scanlan, who was getting over a calf injury.
Broughton said she enjoyed the tournament, which featured a high standard of umpiring, and it was good to play at the Queenstown Events Centre.
The side will travel to Sydney in two weeks to play six games in three days at another pre-season tournament.
The matches in Sydney last only 40 minutes.
Broughton said it would be great to play against Australian teams and adapt to their different style.
The Firebirds were the only unbeaten team at the competition, while the Mystics recorded just one win.
The Steel starts its ANZ championship campaign with a match against the West Coast Fever in Invercargill on March 21.
