Southby has every confidence in her side's ability to deliver a strong response at Horncastle Arena this weekend. Across last month's Quad Series and three-test series against England, the Ferns produced their best performances on the back of a loss.
But she is frustrated the Ferns have again put themselves under pressure to redress the result, rather than having a strong platform to build on for the next match.
"A loss makes you look really hard at ourselves and sometimes your greatest learnings come out of that," Southby said.
"I guess that challenge going forward, especially looking ahead to the Commonwealth Games, is being able to perform every day consistently and nailing every game there, because you don't get any second chances there."
The players undergoing the most self-examination over the tight two-day turnaround are three of the Ferns' most experienced in Katrina Grant, Maria Tutaia and Shannon Francois, who all had lacklustre performances in Auckland.
Grant and Tutaia are proven performers against Australia, and Southby will be confident the pair will make the necessary adjustments for game two, but Francois remains an ongoing concern.
The Southern Steel star has struggled to stamp her mark on the centre position this season after being handed the bib fulltime in the absence of Laura Langman, who has been off-bounds to selectors after taking up a contract across the Tasman.
Francois was benched in the third quarter of Thursday night's opener, after failing to make her presence felt in the midcourt. In her place, Sam Sinclair, who took the court at wing defence in the first half, added much-needed drive and energy.
The dilemma facing Southby now is whether she gives Sinclair, who has long drawn comparisons with Langman, the time to develop her centre game at the possible expense of Francois' confidence.
Southby said the impact the likes of Sinclair, Kayla Cullen and Temalisi Fakahokotau made off the bench has given the coaching staff a lot to think about as they contemplate their line-up for tomorrow's match.
"I think we've got some exciting young talent and they are starting to find their feet and I look forward to them putting their hands up over the coming days."
Constellation Cup
Game 2: Tomorrow, 2.15pm
Horncastle Arena, Christchurch
Three things to look for
1. How will Katrina Grant respond?
Matched up against two wily goal attacks in Susan Pettitt and Steph Wood, the New Zealand skipper had one of her quietest outings in recent memory on Thursday night in Auckland, with her most significant contribution to the stats sheet being in the penalties column. The pressure is on Grant to make the necessary adjustments and provide strong leadership if the Ferns are to get themselves back into the series.
2. Who will Janine Southby plump for in the centre bib?
The Ferns coach has made no secret of her desire to build depth in the centre position over this series, with Shannon Francois having a heavy workload so far this season. Sam Sinclair made a strong impact at centre off the bench in Thursday night's loss - will Southby reward her performance with a start tomorrow?
3. The scoreline
With the two sides looking so evenly matched, there is the possibility the four-test series could end in a draw. If that is the case, the Constellation Cup will be decided by goal percentage, so while it is still early days in the series, the Ferns will give their chances a big boost if they win well in Christchurch.
