That was the case for both Southern teams after the opening weekend of the national league as they each started with two losses.
The Southern Men were competitive in Palmerston North, recording a pair of 4-3 losses to Canterbury and Central.
It was harder going for the Southern Storm in Dunedin, with the women's team thumped 5-0 by Canterbury on Saturday and 7-3 by Central yesterday.
The national league is brimming with class this year as all Black Sticks have been required to play for their provinces of origin.
That has benefited the Southern Men, who have welcomed back Hugo Inglis and Blair Tarrant, but it has proved difficult for the Storm.
Yesterday, Central leapt to a 6-1 lead in the early women's game at the McMillan Centre, with the pace and accuracy of the North Island side too much for the Storm to handle.
But the home side showed real spirit to bounce back and win the second half 2-1, indicating the players had started to adjust to the demands of that level of hockey.
Genevieve Macilquham scored the Storm's opening goal, with Phillipa Symes and Sarah O'Connell finding the net in the second half.
Black Sticks captain Kayla Sharland and Karri McMahon each scored a brace for Central, with Emily Naylor, Alice Naylor and Caryn Paewai completing the scoring.
On Saturday, the Storm's performance had been in reverse: it was competitive with Canterbury in the first half, but struggled in the second.
The Southern defence, inspired by goalkeeper Liz Gifford, was staunch as Canterbury was held to a 1-0 lead at the break. But the Storm could not maintain that intensity and leaked four more goals.
In Saturday's other Dunedin game, Sharland whipped in six goals to lead Central to a 9-0 win over Capital.
In Palmerston North, the Southern Men took plenty of encouragement from their efforts.
Yesterday, Southern led Central 1-0 through a Callum Bailey goal, fell behind 2-1, and then pushed ahead with goals to Chris Ashton and Joe Crooks.
Central scored twice in the last 14 minutes to win.
On Saturday, the Southern Men held their own in a see-saw battle with Canterbury, with Inglis scoring in the first half and Steven Davison in the second.
Canterbury led 4-2 before Southern's Kane Russell converted a penalty corner in the final minute.
With Australian striker Liam Brown due to arrive any day, the Southern Men will be confident of turning close calls into victories in the next stage of the national league.
All the men's and women's teams gather in Wellington for a week-long tournament starting on Saturday.
