Defender Erena Mikaere might have permanently lost her comfortable seat on the bench.
The former Magic goal keep spent three years on the bench watching Casey Kopua and Leana de Bruin strut their stuff.
She transferred to the Steel this season in pursuit of more game time and had to bide her time until round four, when Steel coach Janine Southby surprised the 25-year-old with a starting role.
The lanky 1.93m athlete made a big impact, swatting away deflections with perfectly-timed leaps, swooping on loose balls and tigerishly sticking to her opponent. Her tenacious defence on star shooter Caitlin Bassett proved crucial in the Steel's dramatic 66-65 win.
She played so well, Southby kept her out on the court for the entire game, and a red-faced Mikaere had just enough energy to make one last fabulous play. She combined with Rachel Rasmussen to stop a long ball reaching Bassett in the final seconds of the game.
''I could feel my legs wanting to peter out,'' she said shortly after the match, adding she had not held anything back in reserve in the expectation that she would be replaced at some stage.
There was also no time to develop pre-game nerves. She did not find out she was starting until about an hour before the game.
''I was ecstatic ... and was like, `Who do I tell?', so I called my partner and my dad because I had a little bit of time.
''I knew the rest would find out once the TV comes on.''
Steel captain Jodi Brown described Mikaere's efforts as ''brilliant''.
''Erena has been a really good asset to our team and has come on so much,'' Brown said.
''She does her homework on the opposition and she was given an opportunity and really showed what she can do against tall shooters.
''She watched videos of Bassett during the week and made an effort to work on her partnership with Rachel and that really worked.''
