Melbourne Vixens coach Di Honey isn't too proud to admit she had her doubts.
In the midst of a four-game losing streak late in the season, the Vixens' Super Netball premiership defence hung in the balance.
But the experienced group steeled itself and looked inwards, where it found the extra gear required to advance to a third consecutive grand final.
The Vixens take on fellow heavyweights Adelaide Thunderbirds in Saturday's title decider at John Cain Arena.
"(I was) a little bit (worried), but we had some hard conversations and I think that really connected us back together," Honey said.
"We produced some really good netball (in the preliminary final) last week, so I'm really looking forward to what we put out."
Honey's predecessor Simone McKinnis famously took her team to a pub for a mid-season regrouping session en route to last year's premiership.
And while Honey didn't need any drinks to fuel the latest recovery mission, her players did draw on past experience.
"We took a lot of lessons from last year when we were in a bit of a form slump," Vixens captain Kate Moloney said.
"We did put a lot of that in practice this year and we did have a lot of hard conversations.
"But the great thing about this team is we've had such a consistent list for so long that we know each other really well.
"We've got great connections on and off the court and I know that these girls want to go out there and play for each other."
Adelaide have been the standout team all season with just one loss - against the Vixens back in April - and have thrashed their rivals twice in the past month.
The most recent meeting was a one-sided semi-final, which the Thunderbirds won 58-44.
"They were great against us a couple of weeks ago and we learnt a lot from that game," Moloney said.
"We were building into our form and we weren't able to put 60 minutes out on court last time we played them.
"That's going to be a really big goal for us. In this competition, if you want to win you've got to be able to play 60 minutes of netball.
"It's a massive challenge and we're super excited for it."
Both clubs are one victory away from becoming the first to win three premierships since Super Netball's inception a decade ago.
Melbourne, who finished second on the ladder, hold home-court advantage after Netball Australia sold the rights for the title decider.
But Adelaide, who toppled the Vixens at home in the 2024 grand final, will enjoy plenty of support at a sold-out John Cain Arena, where they beat the NSW Swifts to claim the 2023 crown.
"For me, it doesn't matter. We've played here numerous times," Thunderbirds captain Shamera Sterling-Humphrey said.
"We're going to treat it like home and we have over 2500 of our members that we know are coming over here to watch, so that won't be an issue for us.
"Finals is a different ball-game from what you play in the season, so I think that on the day it's whoever turns up.
"Shutting down their attacking end is going to be key for us."
