Laura Langman has taken to heart the words of Rugby World Cup winner Ali Williams as her side regroups after two season-opening losses.
Williams said of the beleaguered Blues' poor Super 15 showing to date that the criticism being hurled at the team from all sides was pulling them closer together.
"It actually makes us tighter and a stronger group of guys," he said.
Langman reckons the same is true of her Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic side following losses in the first two rounds of this year's ANZ Championship.
It's an unfamiliar position for the only team in the competition to have made the semifinals every year but they are keeping their heads up as they prepare to face their first Australian opponents for the season, NSW Swifts, in Sydney on Monday night.
"We are more united now than ever," the Magic captain told The Bay Times.
"As Ali Williams said, it's times like this you pull together tighter as a team ... as the Blues are doing, we are rallying together - it's onwards and upwards."
Langman said the call from Magic coach Noeline Taurua was for consistency. "Trainings have been fantastic, really intense but then we've failed to take that out on to the court on game day.
"The message has been for us to do our jobs and do them well. It's a simple message and it's definitely achievable."
While two straight losses, to Southern Steel and Northern Mystics, fell well short of expectations, Langman is quick to put a positive spin on a disappointing start to the campaign.
Asked how much of a setback those two losses were, the midcourter talked about the good that had come from them.
"What's been really heartening is that we've pulled together even more as a team. We are more united now, communication is clearer, more direct.
"The season has obviously not got off to the start we wanted but we want to put it right. We have high expectations of ourselves and each other but we've not been hitting our targets or putting our best game out there."
So from a player's perspective, where has Magic's game been falling apart?
"We've got to look after possession we've gained and are given and focus on scoring goals," Langman said.
"We've shown glimpses of our potential ... but have then been found wanting, unable to sustain intensity and focus and unable to score. It's not from lack of trying but we've failed in that crucial decision-making when we're under pressure.
"We're certainly hoping to take a step up on Monday."
Like Magic, Swifts have had what Langman calls "some teething problems", losing to Adelaide Thunderbirds in round one and then to Canterbury Tactix in round two. That makes Monday's game crucial for both teams as they seek to get their campaigns on course.
"We've had a look at Swifts but our focus is on us and what we need to do to get ourselves right. Confidence will come with a win under our belts," Langman said.
"Training has been fantastic ... we hope this week will be the start of really good things to come.
"It's not all doom and gloom, it's early days yet," she said.
"If there's anything I know about the ANZ competition it's that it will come down to the last couple of rounds when someone needs to beat someone else by so many goals.
"With a bit of luck, these two losses won't define our season - we are determined to turn this around."
Langman is just as determined to get her own game on track, admitting she's been "a little bit erratic".
"Some of that is maybe from shifting around the midcourt as we try to find the best combinations there but I would like to see myself setting up more, putting more pressure on the opposition and taking charge on attack to ensure we retain possession and get those goals in."
Meanwhile, the Hamilton-based player is still juggling netball with university studies. Having graduated last year from Waikato University with a Bachelor of Business Analysis, Langman is now working on finishing a post-grad Diploma in Accounting, with a view to sitting her chartered accountancy exams.
"I would like to gain an internship with an accountancy firm ... fingers crossed," she said.
As for netball, Langman is keen to be part of another Silver Ferns season and further down the line, to be part of another Commonwealth Games campaign and play in the next World Championships.
But those are all goals for the future. Right now, Langman, who last year chalked up her 100th game for Magic, is firmly focussed on playing her part in seeing her team succeed in this year's transtasman competition.
A win on Monday would certainly be a nice birthday present for Langman - she turns 26 that day. It might just be the extra motivation her Magic team need.