The Northern Stars, on the other hand? Well, they have everything riding on a win in Invercargill on Monday night to secure their playoff spot.
It has been well documented this has not been the season the Steel was after. The side has failed to pick up a win in 13 games.
But aside from the Steel (3) and the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic (19), things are tight on the ANZ Premiership ladder.
Northern Mystics (30) and Central Pulse (30) have cemented the top two positions, followed by the Stars (26) and the Mainland Tactix (21), knocking on the door for that important third spot.
Not having finals expectations on the Steel’s shoulders put it in a good position to cause an upset in its round 11 clash against the Stars.
"There’s no pressure on us because whether we win or lose it doesn’t affect our run to the finals," Steel coach Reinga Bloxham said.
"But all the pressure’s going to be on the Stars.
"If they want to take control of their own destiny, they have to win this game against us.
"I imagine that they’re feeling quite a bit of pressure. Whereas, we can kind of go out there, and play some netball with freedom, and then hopefully the results will go our way.
"In terms of that, I think we’re in a really cool position."
The Steel and the Stars have had some torrid battles through the years and the Steel lost by just two during the round seven clash in Auckland.
Since then, the Steel has continued to improve — losing by one goal to the Pulse and by seven to the Magic last week, despite leading for most of the game — but cannot seem to close out a game.
The Magic game was an "arm-wrestle" that became more of a mental than physical battle to get over the line.
"It almost gets to the point where somebody will break.
"Unfortunately for us, it was us, and it was just a couple of passes that we probably didn’t need to put in there," Bloxham said.
Her players continued to learn — "they’re only going to be better off for it" — but needed to get comfortable with being in the tension of the game.
"For us to secure this win, we have to play our very best netball to be able to get the win and we have to play really good netball to be able to compete.
"For us to do that, we have to be able to close it out for that full 60 minutes.
"It’s quite cliche, and it’s probably what we’ve been talking about all season, but it’s also about recognising in those moments that this is the moment, this is the centre pass, or this is the turnover, that we’ve absolutely just got to nail.
"I think we’ve definitely improved, but again we aren’t quite there."
Saviour Tui has been a revelation at goal shoot since recovering from her knee and ankle niggles.
She had a "beautiful, beautiful shot" helping keep her side in the game and presented strongly under the post, and even nabbed an MVP performance during the Steel’s loss to the Mystics.
"So proud of her," Bloxham said.
"I think this is the potential we knew that she had.
"We were just hoping that all the stars would align [and] her body would ... not break down on her, so she could show everyone else just what she’s made of.
"She’s just thriving in those moments."
There is one bonus for the Steel though — it gets to play out the final two games at home in Invercargill.
"I think it’ll be nice to be back at home in front of a crowd at ILT Stadium Southland to help us ... push for for that infamous win we’re searching for."
ANZ Premiership
ILT Stadium, Monday, 7.30pm
Southern Steel: Eseta Autagavaia, Georgia Heffernan, Saviour Tui, Sam Winders, Ivari Christie, Kate Heffernan, Renee Savai’inaea, Kate Burley, Courtney Elliott, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit
Northern Stars: Maia Wilson, Jamie Hume, Amorangi Malesala, Gina Crampton, Samon Nathan, Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, Holly Fowler, Kelera Nawai-Caucau, Elle Temu, Lisa Putt
