Shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid could pop goals in her sleep and led the attack end during a five-year stint with the franchise.
She was utterly dominant and the Steel will be hoping Malysha Kelly can have a similar impact down the other end of court.
The 1.85m defender joins the squad as a replacement for Silver Ferns defender Jane Watson, who has signed with the Tactics.
She joins fellow defender Abby Erwood and shooter Jennifer O’Connell as the last three player signings announced.
The Steel roster is now complete and Kelly is looking forward to extending her repertoire.
"I’ve always wanted to learn to play the New Zealand style as a defender. To me, it is the most attractive one — I find it quite intriguing," Kelly said.
"I watched all of Jhaniele’s games last season and I watched Steel’s defensive unit work together and it was very impressive."
"I’ve always wanted to be on top of my game so getting that exposure and getting into the New Zealand environment is very important to me."
Kelly has been a regular in the Jamaican squad since 2008. She competed at the 2011 World Cup and has a bronze medal from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
She has also had playing stints with the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Australia’s Super League and with the Manchester Thunder in the UK’s Superleague.
She brings plenty of experience and was not put off by the move to the more temperate climes of Invercargill.
She has a close friendship with Fowler-Reid and the pair discussed the move.
"Jhaniele was the first person I spoke with about it. She was telling me what the culture was like and her experience and that’s when I began putting my mind around it," she said.
"I’m looking forward to building relationships with the girls. I feel like I know a few of them already just based on what Jhaniele has told me over the years."
Steel coach Reinga Bloxham believes Kelly will bring a new dynamic to the defensive unit.
"I spoke to Thunderbirds coach Dan Ryan and some of the words he used to describe her were tenacious, strong, hard-working, a team player and he felt her style of netball would be very suited to the style we play in New Zealand," Bloxham said.
"We like to use space, look for the ball and hunt and I think it’s exciting that she is that type of player.
"The other nice aspect is we’re still getting a Jamaican connection. Even though we’ve lost Jhaniele, we’ve still got that sass and spice in our team environment."
Erwood, a member of the New Zealand under-21 team which won gold at the World Youth Championships in Botswana last month, will continue her development with the Steel and look for opportunities in the defensive unit.
O’Connell is still raw but the franchise will be hoping the 1.93m shooter can evolve into another Te Paea Selby-Rickit or, even better, a Fowler-Reid.
