The pre-season is over.
Now it is time for the real deal.
A 65-23 win against a combined Southland men's team and Netball South national league team was the final act of the Steel's pre-season in Invercargill on Thursday night.
Steel coach Noeline Taurua's side led 11-5 after the first quarter and extended its lead to 29-11 at halftime.
It blew out to a 47-16 lead after three quarters, and Taurua even allowed the opposition to field a few extra players to push her team, which has less than a week before it opens the season against the Northern Mystics in Auckland on Friday night.
The latest pre-season match followed a busy weekend at the ANZ Championship shoot out in Auckland last week, when the Steel played three 30-minute matches, one full-length match and two 20-minute games.
The Steel also played the Mainland Tactix twice, the Canterbury men's team and the Netball South national league team earlier this month.
Captain Wendy Frew said the team had come through the pre-season injury-free and benefited from a really intense hit out on Thursday night.
"We have had lots of improvements,'' she said.
"There is still lots to work on, but we've come a long way in the last month with the game-time we've had.
"I think each game we're getting better individually and as a team. It's really exciting, but we know there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us.
"You go through all the hard yards in pre-season. The girls are just really looking forward to getting out on the court and hoping all the hard work pays off.''
The Steel's match against the Mystics on Friday night is the first match of the new ANZ Championship season.
The Steel lost both matches against the Mystics last season, but did sneak into the playoffs with three wins and a couple of draws.
Frew said the team will train individually through the long weekend, before heading to Auckland on Thursday morning.
