The Steel should walk away confident after beating defending champions the Mainland Tactix 56-49 in their preseason clash in Dunedin on Sunday.
It was a great step in the right direction following some tough results at the preseason tournament in Otaki the week before, and the Steel grew throughout the Tactix game to pull away at the end.
‘‘I am pleased. It was a good performance,’’ Frew said.
‘‘Good to get everyone on the court.
‘‘Some of the young girls are really stepping up and really bringing it, which is great.’’
Among those young players are midcourter Serina Daunakamakama and defender Khayne-Lii Munro-Nonoa, who showed their game has elevated again this year.
Daunakamakama, in her second fully contracted season, and Munro-Nonoa, who earns her first full contract after being an injury replacement last year, grew up playing together at school in Auckland and representing New Zealand at the Netball Youth World Cup last season.
‘‘They kind of connected again last year,’’ Frew said.
‘‘Their combination is growing and they keep each other accountable. They talk a lot on the court and their combination is really key.’’
Georgia Heffernan took control of the Steel’s attacking end, giving fans a glimpse of what they can expect from their Silver Fern shooter this season.
‘‘I think G had a really good game. She brought the energy, her speed was really good, she was accurate with her shots.’’
Frew, who is heading into her second season as head coach, was pleased with the strides her side had taken, especially in the past week after Otaki.
The Steel beat the Northern Stars 54-46, but lost 45-33 to the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and 70-57 to the Northern Mystics at that tournament.
‘‘I think Otaki was a good preseason for us.
‘‘It’s always hard when you’re juggling players and minutes ... so we kind of walked away probably a little bit disappointed from that.
‘‘But to come and perform like [that] — Tactix are a quality side.
‘‘It was really good to put a 60-minute performance out there, and give our players some really big minutes, which is what they need going into the ANZ [Premiership].
‘‘I’m glad we’ve got another few weeks before our first game, because you kind of feel like as a coach there’s still so much you want to go through.
‘‘But it’s good to see where we need to spend our next two, three weeks really building.’’
There is good news for Steel fans regarding stalwart Renee Savai’inaea. The wing defence, who did not play in Otaki or at the weekend, is tracking well after nursing a niggle and is expected to be available for their opening game.
The Steel return to Invercargill for their final weeks of preparation, playing against training partners and local men’s teams ahead of their season opener against the Tactix away on April 11.
