It is a season which started near on a year ago and which Ioane hopes will go on another couple of weeks at least.
Ioane (25) has been on and off the field, hot and cold at times, and then not playing in his preferred No10 jersey.
"It had been a long season. We started pre-season back in December 2019, then Super Rugby started, and then had to have a break ... " he said
"But it is finals footy now so there is a lot to play for so it should be an exciting couple of weeks. How do we play better? We’ve just got to to prep well.
"We know if we play our best footy it puts us in a good position to win games. This week we just need to put our best foot forward and that is about preparation."
Ioane played the opening weeks of Super Rugby before the lockdown at second five-eighth with mixed results.
He then picked up a groin injury when Super Rugby Aotearoa started but came back at first five-eighth and impressed as the Highlanders went well.
That has continued for Otago which has lodged wins over heavyweights Wellington and Canterbury but has fallen short over the past couple of weeks, suffering losses against Southland and then Tasman.
"The last couple of weeks has not been our best performances. Especially coming off a good effort against Canterbury.
"This week we have stripped it all back, refreshed the bodies. We are confident enough if we get our detail right.
"Southland just wanted it more than us. Can’t put it down to one thing. They just played better than us.
"Against Southland, it was a terrible game from me. It was a bad day for the team and a bad one for myself. Every player has those sort of games. The key for me is to learn from that performance and move forward."
Ioane is eyeing a Northland side which will be much changed from the one which played at Forsyth Barr Stadium last month. The men from Kauri country dropped everything which came their way that night and shot themselves in the foot.
Ioane did not play in the match as he was dropped for discipline reasons.
"We’re expecting a good Northland team and they will be hungry.
"They had a good win against Waikato and will come down here confident and with some support."
"For us it is about getting in the zone. Just not overthinking anything and simply playing our game."
Ioane spent a week with the All Blacks before the test in Auckland and said he enjoyed it and it was good to be back in there. He was told he was the next cab off the rack should any of the No10s go down.
Ioane has eight papers left before getting a degree in commerce but a long-term goal with rugby was the priority at the moment.
Ioane declined to comment on the reasons behind his dropping, along with team-mate Vilimoni Koroi, for the match against Northland last month.
