Coach Katie Robinson knows Nova Thunder have more to give after a 20-goal loss to Souths in Newcastle championship netball on Saturday left them six points adrift of the top four.
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After a brief downpour threatened to wash out another round - four so far have been rain-affected - players hit the court for the first time in four weeks.
Nova, a regular top-four side, have posted just one win from five outings in a disrupted campaign.
They trailed at every break before succumbing 52-32 to Souths, who are caught in a three-way tussle for second place with Junction Stella and West Leagues Balance on 13 points.
Lions led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter, 24-17 by half-time then 36-24 heading into the final period.
"They were stronger," Robinson said.
"Their shooting end was stronger. Defensively we did pretty well. Whenever they made the few mistakes they did we were able to pick it up, so that was good.
"It was maybe just me mixing up the midcourt a bit too much was a bit of a challenge for our team and our shooting circle relied heavily on Brooke [Fennings].
"My message at the end of the game was if we could just improve our intensity by 20 per cent, I think we're going to get 50 per cent reward.
"We get maybe a bit disheartened about things that aren't actually that bad. So small things on court that go wrong we take to heart and we should probably be able to just push through."
Things don't get any easier for Nova as they eye unbeaten leaders Norths next.
Souths player-coach Narelle Eather, who is managing hip issues but got on court for a cameo against her daughter Chloe, was happy with how her side adjusted to a wet surface.
"It was still slippery and wet weather netball but it was a good game," Eather said.
"It's a really slow game [in the wet]. It's really the opposite of how we play and I think we did well adjusting and being more patient, having more than one person offering.
"Nova played well. They shot well but it more just the consistency. We just said be consistent the whole game and move the ball around, be patient when you have to be patient because it's wet weather."
Norths beat Waratah 59-25, West Leagues Balance accounted for Kotara South 46-19 and Junction Stella downed BNC 64-44.
Round 9:
West Leagues Balance beat Kotara South 46-19. Q1: West led 12-3; Q2: West led 23-11; Q3: West led 32-16.
Norths defeated Waratah 59-25. Q1: Norths led 16-5; Q2: Norths led 29-12; Norths led 45-18.
Souths beat Nova 52-32. Q1: Souths led 9-6; Q2: Souths led 24-17; Q3: Souths led 36-24.
Junction Stella defeated BNC 64-44. Q1: Junction led 15-11; Q2: Junction led 30-23; Q3: Junction led 48-34.
Points: Norths 15, Souths 13, Junction 13, West Leagues Balance 13, Nova 7, BNC 7, Waratah 7, Kotara South 5.
