The Steel captain and foundation team member is still on restricted court time after rupturing her Achilles last year.
But the injury is not what is troubling the veteran midcourter. The 33-year-old was bitterly disappointed with the Steel’s performance against the Pulse in Porirua on Wednesday night.
The defending champion was humbled 71-40. It was the second loss to the Pulse this season and another reminder the Steel’s grip on power is slipping.
The combined Otago and Southland team breezed through last season unbeaten but has a dire struggle ahead to retain the ANZ Premiership crown.
Frew is one of those characters you come across who would race you to the bus stop, the letterbox, the top of stairs or around the block.
She just loves competing and loves winning. And losing? Well, it is part of the experience for every top athlete and you learn to live with it.
But Frew has not made peace with Wednesday night’s effort. Far from it.
"This is definitely the toughest defeat I’ve experienced, losing by 31 goals," Frew said.
"We are all hurting from it and we definitely have to come out firing on Sunday to redeem ourselves."
So what went wrong?
"A lot of things went wrong in the game but, for us, it was mainly our turnover rate.
"Every single player on the court made a minimum of two turnovers and some were knocking on six to eight turnovers for the game.
"That is just really uncharacteristic of us. Keeping the ball in hand is something we normally pride ourselves on and being that team who it is hard to get the ball off.
"Our pass placement was awful. The lines we were running were pretty terrible and just all the basics we should be doing better we weren’t."
The Steel will get that shot at redemption Frew was talking about in Invercargill tomorrow afternoon.
The franchise is hosting the Northern Stars, who have started the season with four consecutive losses. On paper the Stars look a much better unit than the results suggest and Frew is not expecting a gentle rebound.
"I think the Stars are a fantastic side and they have been really unlucky with a few of their losses. They would have seen what happened against the Pulse and will come in really confident."
Whatever happens, expect a better showing from the Steel midcourt. The team lost a key player at both ends this season but the midcourt is intact and should be leading the way for the side.
"We’ve talked about the midcourt having experience and we should not be performing like that and throwing away that much ball. We need to be accountable for that and we need to perform better.
"Certainly Gina [Crampton], Shannon [Francois] and I are aware of that and are going to put expectations on each to improve."
Midcourter Dani Gray, who was carted off the court with a knee injury on Wednesday, was scheduled to have a scan on her knee yesterday but was still waiting to hear her prognosis.
Steel v Stars
Invercargill, tomorrow, 4.10pm
Steel: Wendy Frew (c), Gina Crampton, Shannon Francois, Te Paea Selby-Rickit, Jennifer O’Connell, Olivia Bates, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, Abby Erwood, Courtney Elliott.
Stars: Maia Wilson, Paula Griffin, Grace Kara, Fa’amu Ioane, Kirsten Hurley, Holly Fowler, Ama Agbeze, Kate Burley, Olivia Coughlan, Ellen Halpenny, Christina Oscar.
