"We've had some bad injuries," she said.
"They're all ex-Hikurangi premier players and we have been trying for years to get them to play premiers [again].
"All the girls played well but those three in particular stepped up and really held their own."
It is hardly surprising they stepped up after McInnes sent her side to the turf with a do-or-die attitude if they're to secure themselves an easier semifinal match-up.
"We have two more weekends left, and for us one is a bye, and we play Springfield so to kind of get a little of our confidence back was pretty important for the girls."
McInnes added the performance of goal keeper Nikki Matthews was also integral to their win in what was a seesawing end-to-end game.
"It was one of those games where I was just watching and didn't care what the score ended up as because it was such an entertaining game of hockey," McInnes said.
Girls' High coach Paul Snelling was frustrated after his side had put in stronger showings over the past two weeks.
"We had a great game last week and then this week we just weren't there," Snelling said.
"We had them under the pump and had plenty of chances but we didn't finish.
"But, that's just a Northland hockey thing, we've never really had a huge amount of strong goal scorers.
"Our basics let us down in the first half and then when we got going in the second half, we had them under the pump but just couldn't convert."
Snelling said players of the day for his side were Bridget Johnson and Steph Donnelly, with Snelling adding there needed to be a raised performance across the board if they are to snare a few more wins before the season's end.
"We need to win some games, we've had a few bad games where we lost by a lot, but, otherwise all our other games we've only lost by one."
In the other premier women's game, Springfield upset the top-of-the-table Old Girls' side 3-2 after flying out to a 3-nil lead inside 15 minutes.
