Mainland Tactix did Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic a huge favour in handing them a shock upset four-goal loss last week, shooter Jo Harten says.
The Tactix's 62-58 win taught Harten's Magic team a few timely lessons ahead of Saturday's trans-Tasman netball league elimination final against the Southern Steel in Hamilton.
"It was a really frustrating game - the Tactix came out hard, and I think they just wanted it more than us, which is disappointing," Harten told NZ Newswire.
"We should have been fine-tuning our own performance, but it actually turned into a bit of a scrap, a bit of a battle."
The Tactix's solid player-on-player defence disrupted the Magic's flow, they struggled to handle the physical pressure and their connections suffered.
"It was a really good reminder that finals are another step up, that we really have to up our intensity when we hit the Steel on Saturday."
Second on the New Zealand ladder, the Magic have already beaten the third-placed Steel twice this season - both times by six goals - but Harten says those results mean nothing.
"Finals is a different breed of netball - anyone can beat anyone, and when you're playing for your life, the game really changes."
Harten says the Steel feature a strong line-up, from Jamaican shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid at one end through court to young defenders Storm Purvis and Phoenix Karaka.
"Storm and Phoenix are a really good defensive duo - they win a lot of clean ball, which is pretty unheard of in this league.
"We're going to have to really work our butts off to get the ball into the circle and into a good shooting position without them getting their hands on it."
The Magic will be boosted by the return of Silver Ferns skipper Casey Kopua from injury, but Harten says the work of her midcourters - Jamie-Lee Price, Sam Sinclair and Grace Rasmussen - will be key as the Magic look for a complete 60-minute performance.
"For whatever reason, we've ebbed and flowed this season, but there's no better time than finals to try and string that all together.
"People have stepped up at different times this season on attack and defence, but now it's time for us all to chip in and stand up together."
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