But the more seasoned campaigner would have been slightly more relaxed despite the home side's dreadful start to 2011.
The Steel was soundly thrashed 59-42 by the Central Pulse in the morning and returned later in the evening for another towelling, this time by the impressive Queensland Firebirds.
The 55-34 scoreline was an alarming sight for the Steel faithful, who had to look long and hard, and clutch at a few straws, to find the positives.
But the results of pre-season netball games are about as meaningful as a lunchtime yoghurt, and most of the Steel's key players were confined to the sidelines at the Queenstown Events Centre.
Silver Ferns Leana de Bruin, Liana Leota and former Australian international Natasha Chokljat sat out the opening day, and co-captain Wendy Frew was at a wedding.
Leota is struggling with a calf injury and is unlikely to see any court time this weekend. Chokljat has a calf injury as well and will not take the court. But the others should get a quarter or two during the next two days.
The Steel is a notoriously slow starter but history has shown it finishes well. It is a trademark of Robyn Broughton-coached teams.
That said, without the likes of Leota and Frew, the Steel was as smooth through court as a ride across the Afghanistan countryside.
The new shooting combination of Daneka Wipiiti and Paula Griffin showed some promise but is very much a work in progress.
The Firebirds defensive pairing of Laura Geitz and Amy Steel had the better of their opponents, snuffing out most of the Steel's attacking forays before the ball got into the shooting circle.
Inexperienced midcourters Hayley Saunders and replacement player Kendall McMinn struggled to feed their shooters.
The Steel was outscored 15-5 in the opening quarter. That allowed Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke to make wholesale changes and experiment with what was perhaps her most inexperienced line-up.
The Steel failed to make any dent and fell further behind, trailing 30-14 at halftime.
Broughton tweaked the midcourt, shuffling Saunders to wing defence and moving McMinn to centre with Sophia Fenwick getting a run at wing defence and Otago defender Louise Thayer called on to fill in at goal keep.
The changes helped bring parity with the sides sharing the third quarter 13-13. But the Firebirds rebounded from a brief lull to extend the margin by another five goals to complete a 21-goal drubbing.
In other matches yesterday, the Pulse's 17-point demolition of the Steel and 55-49 win against the Tactix suggests it will be a tougher proposition this season. Former Melbourne Vixens shooter Caitlin Thwaites gives the Wellington-based team a stronger presence in the shooting circle. The Firebirds dismissed the Tactix 58-47.
