After five weeks of playing their compatriots, the ANZ Championship features a complete round of matches between Australian and New Zealand franchises.
Should the trend of the opening rounds of the inaugural tournament re-emerge then Australian teams will reassert a dominance broken only by the Silver Ferns-laden Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
The opening month of the competition highlighted a gulf in player depth between the two nations, with the Australians dominating their New Zealand rivals with chilling efficiency.
Of the dozen trans-Tasman matchups held to date, Australian franchises have won nine of them, with only the Magic and Canterbury Tactix enjoying any success against an Australian side.
While there were initially grumblings across the Tasman about the schedule being loaded against Australian participation in the playoffs, results so far indicate the Magic could well be the solitary New Zealand presence once the remaining five rounds of the regular season are completed.
The Magic feature in the match of the 10th round -- from a New Zealand perspective at least -- when they host the second-placed Queensland Firebirds in Rotorua on Sunday.
Blessed with a spine of Silver Ferns personnel, the Magic have built a narrow lead in the standings, one they can extend should they subdue a Queensland outfit spearheaded by Jamaican shooting star Romelda Aitken.
The Southern Steel are the first to entertain Australian opposition when they host the third-placed Melbourne Vixens in Invercargill on Saturday.
Steel coach Robyn Broughton, who witnessed a comfortable though low-quality victory over the winless Central Pulse last weekend, agreed New Zealand sides had to improve markedly to prevent a virtual Australian shutout in the semifinals.
"They play a different style, low, hard, fast passes, sharp cutting, we have to slow their speed down somehow," Broughton said.
However, the real difficulty and one that appears insurmountable in the short term is Australia's player depth.
"They seem to have a lot of depth on their benches, we don't have as much," she said.
"If we have an injury you probably find it difficult to replace.
"It isn't a competition where you can use the young ones and expect them to step up immediately although the Australian teams throw players on and off and they all seem to cope pretty adequately."
Broughton is hopeful one of her old hands, goal attack Megan Dehn, recovers from an ankle injury sustained late in the win over the Pulse.
Dehn will undergo a fitness test tomorrow.
The Tactix, who play the Thunderbirds in Adelaide on Sunday, remain New Zealand's second best franchise in sixth place although their hopes of consolidation before hitting the Australians has been undone by losses to the Magic and Northern Mystics.
Auckland's resurgent Mystics are seeking a third successive victory when they host the fourth-placed New South Wales Swifts on Monday while the Pulse make the long journey from Wellington to Perth in search of their first success at the expense of the West Coast Fever.
