Adjusting to life without Irene van Dyk has taken a little time, but coach Waimarama Taumaunu believes the Silver Ferns are on the right track.
The New Zealanders arrived in Sydney on Monday to prepare for their first Netball World Cup without van Dyk since 1999.
They begin their campaign against Barbados on Friday, followed by a second pool match against Trinidad and Tobago before they run into defending champions Australia on Sunday.
Van Dyk retired from international netball in June last year, having amassed 217 Test caps in her 20-year career, including 72 for South Africa before she emigrated to New Zealand in 2000.
Over the years, the Silver Ferns developed their game around her height, holding game and shooting accuracy, and have struggled since she retired.
A range of shooters have come and gone, including Cathrine Latu, Ellen Halpenny and Ameliaranne Wells.
Taumaunu says van Dyk's dominance over so many years had been hugely beneficial to New Zealand netball.
"But we did wind up with a style of play that we didn't have too many alternatives to," she said.
"We've had to look around and think about it for a little while, and work out how to play with this new talent that we have.
"It's not similar to Irene, so it has meant a change of focus."
That change has centred around Bailey Mes, who Taumaunu says cemented her position as No.1 shooter in last week's double-header against South Africa and earlier match against Fiji.
In tandem with the established brilliance of goal attack Maria Tutaia, Mes provides a mobile, athletic shooting circle which has introduced an element of uncertainty into New Zealand's play.
Silver Ferns assistant coach Vicki Wilson, a goal shooter who won three world titles with Australia, says it's taken a little time for the Kiwis to regroup following van Dyk's departure.
"Depending on your playing personnel, you adapt what you do.
"So now, with this group, we've adapted again, playing to their strengths," she said.
"And they have a number of strengths, that's the key."
Wilson says the Silver Ferns' through-court attack, whipping the ball post to post, is improving all the time.
"We're getting great pace coming out of the back, with the forward line able to maintain that momentum and rhythm as it comes down.
"For me, it's about players getting their timing back, getting that rhythm, being prepared to go for a ball and not being scared to try things again if they don't work."
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