Steel co-coaches Janine Southby and Natalie Avellino issued a pass mark for their side's performance at a pre-season tournament in Lincoln over the weekend.
The Steel travelled north to test its mettle against ANZ Championship rival the Canterbury Tactix, the Canterbury men's team and visiting New South Wales club Eastwood Ryde.
"People got some time on court and we started really establishing some combinations, but there is clearly a lot of work to do," Southby said.
"We also got a look at what intensity we need to be working at from a game perspective with some tougher match play, so in that respect we achieved our goals for the weekend."
The Steel gave some impressive glimpses out on court.
"We feel there is a lot to work on but there have also been some really exciting plays during the weekend from the players, especially given they have had very little court time together and we've had some disruptions with players unavailable for this tournament.
There are some very promising signs.
"The pressure comes on now. The girls have been pushing each other hard at training but now they have played another team from ANZ Championship level, they will be pushing each other even harder.
"There were patches of players really stepping up and saying 'pick me, I want to be a starting player'. But that was inconsistent and that's got to improve."
The Steel was light on experience in the absence of former Silver Fern shooters Donna Wilkins and Jodi Brown and midcourter Wendy Frew, who withdrew from the squad after announcing her pregnancy on Thursday.
A slight niggle also relegated dynamic new recruit Courtney Tairi to the sidelines.
The Steel lost its opening game of the tournament 39-66 against a troublesome Canterbury mens' team after trailing each quarter 5-18, 17-36 and 28-51.
The Tactix earned South Island bragging rights, notching a 56-46 win against the Steel on Saturday.
Yesterday, the Steel dominated Eastwood Ryde 62-40 after leading 19-8, 33-21, 46-33 at the breaks.
