The Kiwi Ferns can now turn their attention to the defending champions Australia, after securing their place in the semi finals of the Rugby League World Cup with a 34-4 win over the Cook Islands on Monday (NZ time).
While it's the clash everyone's been waiting for, New Zealand know they'll need to take their game up a level to compete with their trans-Tasman rivals.
"We made it a bit hard for ourselves, especially in that second half," said Ferns star Raecene McGregor. "[There were] a few errors but I think once we stuck to what we had to do, we opened them up."
Player of the match McGregor was hugely influential in the win, but was the first to admit they'd need to be much more clinical against the Australians in this weekend's semi-finals.
"When we stick to what we know what we can do, I think we come off the back and we can score tries," she noted.
"When we go away from things, I think we just get a bit sloppy. As long as we stick to what we're good at, I think we've got a good game against them next week."
Coach Ricky Henry agreed, adding: "Lots of improvement for us. We were a bit clunky at times but we'll go away and work on that over the next few days."
While it wasn't the full performance they were after, it's still two wins from two games at the tournament for the wins for the Kiwi Ferns. But Henry has plenty to think about, as he prepares to pick a side for the long-awaited clash with Australia.
With plenty of talent in the squad, Henry isn't short on options, but admits he's still unsure what his strongest side looks like.
"We're sort of still looking at a few options there," he said. "We've still got a couple of players to have a look at as well, so we'll go away and have a look at the video and try and get our best team out on the field."
Because anything less than their best won't do next time out against the Jillaroos.
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