Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua is confident her side are tracking better than they were three years ago, before they were crowned world champions - despite their record defeat to Aotearoa Men.
The team fly out to Birmingham on Thursday for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games with expectations of returning with a gold medal.
The NZ women might have been schooled 67-48 in the Quad Series final, but Dame Noeline insists they still learned valuable lessons.
"Once again, we had moments or glimpses of brilliance and at times, we were ill-disciplined," she said.
The Ferns coach is confident that discipline will be ironed out before their opening Commonwealth Games match in less than two weeks time.
"It's gone so fast!"
Time has flown by for the Ferns, who will soon know if they've done enough to compete against the world's best.
"We're hoping that there is some growth there, but hopefully, just getting some confidence and not second guessing by the time we get to the Games," said captain Gina Crampton.
Dame Noeline admits she's a numbers person and when it comes to comparing the side's current stats to those of three years ago, before they were crowned world champions, she's come to the following conclusion...
"I know it might feel crazy to people, but I actually believe we are ahead of ourselves," she said.
They need that belief, after failing to medal at Gold Coast 2018.
"We're going there to win," said Dame Noeline. "That's my KPIs as a coach and also the expectation to wear the fern."
Second best simply won't do at Birmingham.
