After arriving home from Perth on Monday afternoon, the team had an ''intense'' training session in Invercargill on Tuesday morning, before fitness coach Simon Jones put the players through a fitness test in Dunedin on Thursday.
Coach Janine Southby has given the team the weekend off, but was considering releasing players for club netball if requested.
Midcourter Stacey Peeters, who played the final quarter in the Steel's win over the Mainland Tactix a fortnight ago, will play for College A in the Dunedin premier competition today.
With a win over the Tactix and losses to the West Coast Fever and New South Wales Swifts from its first three games, the Steel heads into the bye second in the New Zealand conference standings.
Looking back at the start to the season, Southby said the Steel needed to get better at finishing teams off.
''I think we've been playing pretty well,'' she said.
''We are just lacking that ability and confidence to nail it and to finish it when we should be.
''We haven't quite connected the attacking end playing really well and the defence playing really well.''
Despite losing to the Swifts (by six points) and the Fever (seven), the Steel was right in both games, before fading down the stretch.
Southby compared the Steel to the unbeaten Fever, a team that has showed glimpses of promise.
''They have always threatened but not quite finished, and that's the challenge we have got,'' she said.
''We are threatening, but we are not finishing off, and that's the challenge we have to lift and overcome.''
With veterans Phillipa Finch and Jodi Brown no longer with the Steel, wing attack Gina Crampton and goal attack Tea Paea Selby-Rickit have stepped up.
Neither had started an ANZ Championship game before this season, but both had shown they belonged at this level on the back of three straight starts, Southby said.
''I think Gina has had a really strong start. I always believed she was capable and I think she now believes that, and that's the big thing for her.
''She's just got to keep pushing and pushing, because people will be watching her now. It's not an easy ride any more. They will get video analysis and that side of things.''
Selby-Rickit, who played the majority of her netball before this season at goal shoot, had also impressed, Southby said.
The 1.88m shooter has landed 35 of her 46 attempts on goal, while combining nicely with goal shoot Jhaniele Fowler-Reid.
''Lots of questions were asked of her and she's stood up,'' Southby said.
''Her shooting has been pretty strong, she's putting up good volume and her movement's been great.''
Former Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic shooter Brooke Leaver is over her back injury and trained fully the past couple of weeks.
She has not had any game time since the team gathered in December, but is expected to be available for the Steel's next match, against the Northern Mystics, in Auckland next Sunday night.
