Unpredictability has become key for the Silver Ferns as they zero in on the defence of their Commonwealth Games netball gold medal in New Delhi later this year.
There was, however, one thing that was predictable about their match against Samoa at Porirua's Te Rauparaha Arena on Saturday: the magnitude of the winning margin.
Ahead 46-15 at halftime, the New Zealanders worked hard to maintain intensity, and cleared out to a comprehensive 92-28 win, despite coach Ruth Aitken using all 12 of her squad.
The match was never expected to be anything other than a walkover: Samoa, coached by former Silver Fern Linda Vagana, lacked strength and depth, although Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic's Frances Solia worked tirelessly in the midcourt.
In contrast, Aitken was able to experiment with a series of combinations on court, ranging from the tried-and-true to the untested.
The familiar took the court with its customary efficiency: shooters Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia were paired with Laura Langman and Temepara George on attack, Casey Williams moving out to goal defence with Leana de Bruin back at goal keep 10 months after giving birth to son Caleb. Versatile defender Joline Henry completed the opening line-up at wing defence.
Aitken was also able to give newcomer Grace Rasmussen an extended run at goal attack, and test returning defender Anna Scarlett with Katrina Grant at the back.
Liana Barrett-Chase added zip to the midcourt in the second half, and shooter Daneka Wipiiti returned to international netball eight months after giving birth to daughter Kilani-Mae. A bout of food poisoning earlier in the week restricted her game time to the closing 15 minutes.
The Silver Ferns have a challenging season ahead: two tests against Jamaica beginning in nine days in Christchuch, then a three-test series against arch-rivals Australia starting in Adelaide on August 27.
The main goal, however, remains a successful defence of their Commonwealth Games title in October.
To that end, Aitken is well aware the Silver Ferns need something extra to overcome a determined Australian team still smarting from their home loss in the 2006 Melbourne Games final.
The chance to try some variations in Saturday's game proved valuable, and although Aitken pronounced herself satisfied overall, the lack of significant opposition meant no real conclusions could be drawn.
"We want to be known as a team that plays with high intensity and a really good work rate," Aitken said afterwards.
"We were strong defensively, and our midcourt has really developed, but with two new ones in the shooting circle, there's still a bit more work to do.
"This is just one level - it's a starting point."
As always, the need for improvement was key, she said.
"We need to continue with the understanding - there were some little errors at times and we always aim to be error-free.
"We needed to put more pressure on defence through court. When we applied that, we got turnover ball, but I think there's
still more to be had."
Silver Ferns captain Casey Williams described Saturday's performance as a benchmark, emphasising that the game's scoreline
had less importance than the manner in which it was achieved.
"We've set ourselves our benchmark, and what we practised in training, we executed well out on court," Williams said.
"To be honest, we didn't set a target - it was our first opportunity to go out there as a team and show what we did in training."
Although there were still areas for improvement, Williams was in agreement with Aitken that the main goal of the low-key warm-up match had been achieved.
"I think we're not predictable any more: right through the court we have a lot of combinations we can be flexible with and that exploit the strengths of each individual."
