The 58-55 loss to the clinical Diamonds side in Sunday's final, while devastating, should not discourage the Ferns from continuing their approach.
The New Zealand side proved in their 52-47 pool-play win against the Australians and again in patches of the last three quarters of the final they have a gameplan that can match, and at times even better, that of the Australians.
The key difference between the two sides on Sunday was Australia were able to execute their gameplan for the full 60 minutes, New Zealand were not.
Against a side as clinical and efficient as the Diamonds, you don't tend to come back from lapses as big as the eight minute period in the opening quarter when attacking jitters got the better of the young Ferns side.
But this New Zealand side is still early in their development, having only come together six weeks ago. There is still improvement to be made and depth to build.
In that sense it is a shame that some of the changes to the programme did not come sooner and you've got to again wonder what shape this team might be in now had planning for the post-Irene van Dyk era been better handled.
A serious knee injury to Bailey Mes, the team's starting shooter in Sydney, and a lack of depth in New Zealand's shooting ranks did not help Ferns' management in their succession planning.
It only became obvious after their 4-0 Constellation Cup loss to Australia that their gameplan required major overhaul.
The foundations were laid over the past nine months with the increased focus on strength and conditioning, along with the work the leadership group did behind the scenes to build a strong team culture.
That overhaul might not have come soon enough, but at least now, finally, they are on the right track.
