Dame Noeline Taurua has given her Silver Ferns a mixed review, after beating New Zealand A in their domestic series opener in Palmerston North.
In their first game since January, the Ferns overcame a sluggish start to secure a 59-44 win, which Coach Taurua rated as just a four-out-of-10 performance.
After trailing during the opening quarter, Taurua's side took a slim lead into the main break, before a strong defensive effort in the second half saw them pull away in the first of four games in as many days.
The series will serve as a warm-up for three tests against England in Hamilton next week.
Both the Ferns and NZ A regularly rotated their players around to manage workloads, as Taurua went with an experienced side that saw Maia Wilson and Ameliaranne Ekenasio start in the shooting circle, Gina Crampton, Kimiora Poi and Claire Kersten in the midcourt, and Karin Burger and Jane Watson in defence.
While the match produced some positives, Taurua saw plenty of room for improvement.
"I could see, sporadically, the areas that we were working on both defence and attack, but I think the little attention to detail at times was missing.
"I don't know if we were a bit tired or just trying to get our legs back out there again. Promising, but still a bit of work to do.
"Some of the players impressed me in NZ A, which was pleasing. I can see the difference between the pros and others trying to stamp their mark, which is natural."
Taurua will hope for a much-improved performance on Thursday, when they face NZ Men in a highly anticipated clash.
The two sides met twice during last year's series and the games - both won by the men - served the Ferns in good stead, as they went onto win the Netball World Cup.
The men's side are vastly different from last year and captain Kruze Tangira predicts a tough game.
Tangira's side opened their account with a 73-44 win over NZ U21.
"It was a good way to shake off the rust and throw the ball around," says Tangira. "The Ferns are a fantastic team and it'll be tough.
"I don't think we will win easily, if we do come out on top, so we have to stay united and play a simple game plan, and keep building those connections out on the court.
Join us at 8pm Thursday for live updates of the Silver Ferns v NZ Men domestic series clash
