But there is real concern after goal shoot George Fisher went down with what looked to be a serious knee injury in the third quarter.
Fisher, who already had both her knees strapped, collided with Swifts goal keep and former Southern Steel training partner, Losa Fifita, as they both went for the ball in the air. Fisher went down and was carried from the court.
She was instrumental before she went off, coming out of the circle to provide an extra option on attack. She held strongly at the back, had good movement to shimmy away from her defenders and was the dominant shooter for the home team.
But there are still plenty of other positives, with the Steel looking slick on attack from the start against a depleted Swifts due to a Covid-19 outbreak among the senior players.
Sam Winders, in her first outing in Steel colours, had a stunning game.
She looked right at home in her new position of wing attack, showing off her court craft, directing traffic and putting in some nice feeds from the top of the circle.
But Winders' defensive prowess still came through, when she jumped across the transverse line to tip the ball back in court, resulting in a Georgia Heffernan goal at the other end.
It put the Steel up 11-7 and set the platform for the team to push on to lead 19-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The Steel went up a gear in the second quarter, taking the game away from the Swifts' reach, winning the quarter 23-12.
Ivari Christie replaced Kate Heffernan at centre in the second quarter and made an immediate impact.
She had some lovely touches on attack and took a flying intercept in the pocket.
The home side lead 42-23 at halftime.
It was a chance for coach Reinga Bloxham to test combinations ahead of the season.
Courtney Elliott made an appearance at goal defence and keep, Kate Hartley got a run at centre and wing defence and Jess Allan at goal attack.
The Swifts had a better third quarter, picking up more ball on defence and Sophie Fawns - the only fully contracted Swifts player to make the trip - came in to the game more and sunk some nice long shots.
Lili Gorman-Brown shifted from centre to wing attack and made a difference, cutting to the circle edge nicely, but the Steel pushed out 63-31.
There were some glimpses of good connections forming across the court for the Steel, a promising sign for the season ahead.
Winders and Georgia Heffernan found each other with ease on attack, captain Te Huinga Red Selby-Rickit, Kate Burley and Elliott rotated together nicely in the defensive circle and Renee Savai’inaea was solid at wing defensive.
The Steel had a quieter final quarter through the middle but finished strongly to take a 31 goal win.
The Steel play the Central Pulse on Tuesday.
