The Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic netball coach Noeline Taurua says it's been a tough trans Tasman netball championship competition this year, but it's going to get tougher next year.
The Magic lost the inaugural final 65-56 to the New South Wales Swifts in Sydney last night, winding up a season in which no New Zealand team won a game in Australia.
Taurua says the New Zealand teams will need to step up next year when they'll have more games across the Tasman.
She says big away games in Perth, Adelaide and probably Queensland are long hauls.
And big learning curves include toughening up mentally - which Taurua says isn't restricted to just New Zealand netball.
Wet weather in Sydney prevented a world record crowd of more than 14-thousand last night, but the match was still played to a bumper attendance of 12,099.
