Now they are starting each other's sentences.
Coaching by committee certainly has its advantages but there are also some downsides. And the last thing the former rivals want to do is deliver a mixed message and leave their charges confused.
"We've talked about that and how that will work," Avellino said.
"It is just something we need to keep working on and building on through the pre-season and in training."
The pair have compared their professional relationship to a marriage. Right now, they are still in the honeymoon phase but insist there are some robust structures in place to help resolve any of those little differences which pop up from time to time in any relationship.
"We know that we will not agree on everything," Southby said.
"We've already had disagreements but we discuss it through, listen to each other and we've got a wee process we work through."
"It is like a marriage," Avellino added.
"We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so you're not always going to agree.
"But we've even started saying the first three words at the same time, which is really scary, and we have to stop. So we are really on the same page and things are going well."
Just how they are going to make decisions in the heat of battle is not as clear. If there is disagreement in the middle of a match, what then?
"Mostly, when you go into games, you've sat down as a coaching team and gone through what-if scenarios," Southby said.
"So you actually have plans in place but there are always things which will spring up at you and you wonder whether you should make a change. But ... you can always talk about it on the sideline."
There is a process in place to resolve any sideline squabbles, but the pair are keeping that to themselves.
For now, they are enjoying bouncing ideas off each other and looking forward to proving a few critics wrong when the new-look Steel takes the court for its opening match against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
"We're aiming at the top six," Southby said.
"I think it is [a realistic goal] if you look at the players we have and their background. But part of a plan is to blood some young players and give them exposure at this level."
The Steel's pre-season gets under way in Christchurch in two weeks, with games against the Canterbury Tactix and an Australian premier team.
Preparation steps up a notch for the ANZ pre-season tournament in Tauranga in the first weekend of March and the Steel will host the Northern Mystics in Balclutha on March 17.
