Southern Steel coach Noeline Taurua is cautiously optimistic after her trans-Tasman netball team completed three pre-season matches in Ashburton this weekend with mixed results.
Beaten 61-49 by the New Zealand men's team, the Steel downed the Tactix 64-47 on Saturday before backing up on Sunday with a 54-60 loss to the Tactix.
Taurua said the matches had shown the areas the Steel needed to work on.
"We did lose a couple of games but there's heart out there. You have to lose at some stage because even though it's not a great feeling, it's often after the fact that you really see what a team is made of."
The Steel's opening trans-Tasman league game against Northern Mystics is just three weeks away.
After losing last week's pre-season hit-out against the Magic 84-71, Central Pulse improved to pip Northern Mystics 71-70 on Sunday.
Slow out of the blocks, the Pulse gathered momentum to produce a fast-paced and entertaining spectacle in a six-spell match which featured numerous personnel and positional changes.
Pulse defender Phoenix Karaka didn't play, ruled out in a precautionary move after suffering a slight knee knock earlier in the week.
The Pulse have their final run at the Pre Season Shootout in Sydney on March 18-20 before their season opener against the Magic on April 4.
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