Expect to see a ruthless side to the Silver Ferns when they open the Constellation Cup against Australia at Auckland on Wednesday.
More than 19 months on from the Silver Ferns winning the 2021 Constellation Cup, the two trans-Tasman foes will lock horns again with the first of four tests.
The Silver Ferns haven't played Australia since January - their first match of the year - for a 53-39 defeat at London, as part of the Quad Series with England and South Africa.
Since then, Dame Noeline Taurua's side has built depth in key positions, taking Commonwealth Games bronze at Birmingham. Australia took gold, without facing New Zealand.
As the sides prepare to face off once again, vice-captain Sulu Fitzpatrick warns the Silver Ferns team will bring a different mentality against the Diamonds at Spark Arena.
"We all love each other, but sometimes you've got to have a bit of tough love," Fitzpatrick told AM. "We've been working really hard on making sure we are ruthless.
"We know Aussie don't give an inch. Their style is very much on the body, every minute, every second of the game.
"We're making sure being ruthless is a key focus for us. It doesn't come naturally for some, but ruthless doesn't mean 'smash, bang' all those things.
"Ruthless can be in the way you execute your skillset. Ruthless can be in the way you do your job and have your mates' backs.
"That's what we're going to be focussing on putting out on court."
Despite the Constellation Cup's importance to New Zealand, coach Taurua has one eye on the future - with less than nine months until the next Netball World Cup in South Africa.
While the Silver Ferns won the 2019 World Cup under Taurua, she makes it clear her job is to put pathways in place for New Zealand to remain contenders for as long as possible.
"I can't wait," said Dame Noeline. "We live for these moments, to play against Australia, knowing how good they are.
"We're working towards the Netball World Cup in July-August next year. It's just another stepping stone, but also an opportunity for us to build confidence in what we're doing and how we're doing it.
"We're current World Cup champs, we hold the [Constellation] Cup at the moment. We also know we're starting to build great depth within New Zealand, within netball.
"In comparison to Aussie, they have a huge population of netballers. Our system is really small.
"We have to make sure, once again, we give opportunities to everybody. It's not just about this Netball World Cup, it's about the next and the next, and making sure our generations after actually have stability.
"The work the players are doing now, I can only commend them. We're doing a lot of things in this system about development, about the pathways - we know it's not just about us.
"It's that old cliche - find it better than we received it. I'm really happy about where we're sitting at the moment."
Join us at 7pm Wednesday for live updates of the NZ v Australia Constellation Cup series opener
