The Silver Ferns have opened their World Cup campaign in Sydney with a convincing win over Barbados, but the real marker of how they are shaping up for the title will come tomorrow.
As with the Ferns' pre-World Cup warm-ups against Fiji and South Africa, it was difficult to get a solid gauge of how the new-look line-up was tracking, with the Caribbean side unable to challenge the world No 2 side for consistent periods.
There were aspects the Ferns were happy with - their centre pass attack and defensive dominance in the final period being two of those.
And there were elements they were not so happy with, such as an untidy attacking effort in the second spell.
But all in all, it was difficult to know whether this side has the goods to challenge the impressive Diamonds outfit, which is red-hot favourite to take out its third consecutive title.
But soon it will not be guesswork.
The Kiwis meet their transtasman rivals, whom they have not beaten since October 2013, in pool-play tomorrow in a fascinating preview to a potential finals showdown.
For New Zealand it is a tricky proposition - it wants to keep its powder dry for later in the tournament, but a big loss to the Diamonds could provide a major dent to the team's confidence.
Ferns coach Waimarama Taumaunu said with the result unlikely to have any bearing on how they progress through the tournament, she is approaching tomorrow's round robin clash against their transtasman rivals much differently than she would a regular test match.
''It's not a tournament-defining game. It's a little bit earlier than we're used to, but we do get another life and that just means you can be a little more thoughtful in your planning,'' she said.
''We're going to get people on, we're going to keep people as fresh as we can over the next couple of days and we'll see where we are at against Australia. Then we get a rest day, so in some ways it is going to work out quite well for us.''
Before tomorrow's crucial clash, the Ferns will have one final chance to fine-tune their combinations and build confidence against Trinidad and Tobago, which plays in a similar style to that which the Ferns encountered last night against Barbados.
While the 73-28 scoreline against the Caribbean side was convincing, aspects of New Zealand's performance were unconvincing.
It started strongly, netting 21-goals in the opening spell as Bailey Mes danced and wove her way around the spirited Barbados defence.
But the Ferns' precision fell away in the second spell, with poor placement into the shooting circle allowing impressive Barbados defender Shonette Bruce to disrupt the New Zealand flow.
A third-quarter defensive lapse would also be of concern for Taumaunu.
After keeping Barbados to fewer than seven goals for both the opening two quarters, the Ferns leaked 11 goals during the third spell as the new defensive pairing of Phoenix Karaka and Leana de Bruin struggled to gel.
It was only really in the final quarter, as the Caribbean side tired, that the New Zealand side looked entirely dominant, outscoring Barbados 19-4 for the period to record a 45-goal win.
With the match marking the World Cup debut of five New Zealand players - Rasmussen, Paseka, Mes, Kayla Cullen and Phoenix Karaka - Taumaunu is expecting a much more settled performance from her side against Trinidad and Tobago today.
Earlier in the day England's netballers took the court against Scotland under a shadow.
The father of coach Tracey Neville died in St Vincent's hospital in Sydney last night after suffering a heart attack on the flight over to support the England team.
Her brothers, former Manchester United football stars Gary and Phil, had rushed to Australia to be with their father Neville.
• By Dana Johannsen in Sydney
NZ v Barbados
The scores
New Zealand 73
Malia Paseka 28/38, Bailey Mes 24/31, Maria Tutaia 12/15, Jodi Brown 9/12
Barbados 28
Shonica Wharton 14/16, Nikita Piggott 6/6, Faye Sealy 4/5, Sheniqua Thomas 4/6
Quarter scores: 1st, 21-7; 2nd, 36-13; 3rd, 53-24.
Netball World Cup
The results
Wales 59, Fiji 52 (extra time)
Jamaica 90, Samoa 44
Uganda 74, Zambia 38
Malawi 58, South Africa 51
Singapore 56, Sri Lanka 43
England 60-19 Scotland
Upcoming games
Today
Uganda v Fiji, 1.20pm
NZ v Trinidad & Tobago, 3.20pm
Samoa v Scotland, 5.20pm
Australia v Barbados, 5.20pm
South Africa v Singapore, 7.20pm
Jamaica v England, 7.20pm
Malawi v Sri Lanka, 9.20pm
Tomorrow
Wales v Zambia, 12.20pm
Trin. & Tobago v Barbados, 2.20pm
Silver Ferns v Australia, 4.20pm
England v Samoa, 6.20pm
Malawi v Singapore, 8.20pm
