Sold Out ILT to Host Steel Revenge Mission

Southern Steel coach Wendy Frew has been watching footage of her team's worst performance this season all week.

The opening round loss to Tactix still stings. But it's also proof of how far the Steel have come since March.

"I think that was our poorest performance of the season – we just didn't execute things well and we've made a lot of positive improvements since then," Frew said.

"Watching back the footage this week has been quite interesting. To see that performance, we knew we could do a lot better and we've had a lot of growth since then."

Redemption comes Sunday at ILT Stadium Southland. The venue is sold out for the South Island derby that could decide where the ANZ Premiership Grand Final is played.

The GoSweetSpot Mystics will secure top spot and hosting rights with a win over Magic. But both Steel and Tactix remain in contention depending on results.

Frew knows what her team is up against. The Tactix have been the competition's most consistent side despite rotating players through injuries.

"We can't wait to take on the Tactix. They have been the in-form team throughout the season and really consistent despite all of the different faces we've seen in the line up, so we definitely have a lot of respect for them," she said.

"They are actually really strong across the court with their whole seven so we're going to have to take it up a notch again."

The Tactix lost their last two games but Frew is not reading too much into that form slump.

"Defensively they get a lot of gains so as an attacking unit we're going to have to stay united and ensure we're driving strong into that ball with our ball placement really on song so the Tactix can't get touches like they have been," she said.

"Our shooters are going to have to make sure they do those small things well."

A home playoff match is the prize for Sunday's winner. That adds extra motivation for a Steel side playing in front of their faithful.

"Obviously, we want to beat the Tactix to get a home playoff match – whether that's an elimination final or a grand final depending on the result of the Mystics game," Frew said.

"We're excited to take the court again and ensure we put our best foot forward leading into the playoffs."

Frew is not looking beyond Sunday despite the possibility of back-to-back games against the same opponent.

"We might have to play Tactix back-to-back but we haven't actually thought ahead to game plans for playoffs so there's no strategy around that coming into the mix this weekend," she said.

"We're just focused one game at a time and we're putting everything into this game."