Southern Steel defender Taneisha Fifita isn't fazed by the 1.96m task she has to tackle on Monday night.

In fact, she can't wait to test her mettle against one of the world's best.

The 1.85m Fifita will be assigned the challenge of containing Australian Diamonds captain and sharpshooter Caitlin Bassett when the southerners take on the Magic at ILT Stadium Southland.

Last time the pair met three weeks ago, Bassett was in formidable form with a strike rate of 95 percent.

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Steel defeated the Magic 59-58 in Dunedin but Fifita is determined to see Bassett's statistics reduced in the rematch.

"My focus is to keep my feet moving around the body so I don’t get called for those contacts which would let her have easy shots. It's important to try and stay in play," she says.

Thrust into netball's elite ranks as a 15-year-old, Fifita has exceeded expectations from the outset, developing into one of New Zealand's most promising defensive prospects.

When her tenacious approach attracted more than its fair share of the umpire’s whistle earlier in the season, Fifita opted to reinvent key aspects of her game and has since been playing with a maturity which belies her youth.

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"With the help of my teammates and Reinga, it has been possible to make those changes. I was more used to that physical side of defence but I'm enjoying the challenge of understanding how I can play differently."   

It earned high praise from Steel head coach Reinga Bloxham who has been impressed with her young prodigy's ability to evolve as a defender. 

"Taneisha has the ability to change the game for us. Her ability to turn over ball or deflect it allows us opportunities to score," she says.

"She has worked out how to use her strengths, especially her explosive power. She is so strong in the air and is now working out how and when to set up ball so she can use this strength and get ball lifted over her and then she is able to contest it."

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Being sent from the court against the Pulse earlier in the season proved a catalyst for change.

"Since then she has worked extremely hard to stay disciplined with her decision making … working out which ball she can go for and which stuff she may just need to leave," Bloxham says.

"Her footwork has been key. We've worked on the footwork needed for her to come off the body, go backwards and then up in the air.

"Taneisha put in the hard work preseason and her body is conditioned for ANZ. She can handle the load physically and mentally now. She's a lot more comfortable in the environment … when I hear her voice on court it makes me proud that she feels confident enough to use it now."

Photo: Michael Bradley Photography 

Bloxham is anticipating a hard-fought clash against the bottom-placed Magic. 

"Taneisha and Caitlin will be a good battle of youth versus experience. If Taneisha can keep her feet moving and confuse that space for the feeders then she will give herself every chance to turn over ball," she says.  

"The Magic game will be tough. It always is against them. Where they are on the ladder makes no difference to how we will prepare to play them. They are tight, niggly and never back down. We have to be strong on the take, run in to every pass and pull that ball in so they don’t get hand to it."

In the hunt for a finals berth, Ascot Park Hotel-sponsored Southern Steel has an advantageous home run with three of its last five games to be played in Invercargill.

Southern fans will be able to watch the team in action live for the Georgie Salter Memorial against the Mystics on July 11, and during the ANZ Premiership Community Celebration round on July 24 against the Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse. 

Tickets are available from ILT Stadium Southland or online at www.ticketek.co.nz.