What has been missing is that killer instinct needed to seal a win when they are in the lead and dominating, as happened against NSW Swifts last week when Magic capitulated under pressure and lost by two after holding a handy four-goal lead.
According to the competition statistics, individually, some Magic players have been performing well, featuring in the top 10 of most of the "good" stats - Irene van Dyk for her 93.4 per cent shooting accuracy, Laura Langman for goal assists, Casey Williams for rebounds, Julianna Nauoupu for centre pass receives and Leana de Bruin for intercepts.
"Players are improving and progressing but [they need to have] that fire in the belly, that hunger and fight, especially when the momentum changes and the pressure is put on by the opposition - that's where we are lacking at the moment ... that's our downfall," Taurua said.
She was more than happy with the progress Magic had shown week on week and what the team needed now was to "stay united and tough this out," she said. "This week we've been quite specific regarding what we need; more gains out of the defensive end, what the plan is when we're up; what our plan is when we're down; make sure we're all on the same wavelength."
Taurua acknowledged the Vixens were riding high and said they had been playing "some nice netball".
The Magic expect to face a clinical Vixens in front of a very parochial crowd tonight. Defensively, the Melbourne side have been strong and tenacious while on attack they have kept errors to a minimum.
Tonight will be the Vixens' first home game of the season and they have a good record at Melbourne's Hisense Arena, winning 15 of 21 matches they've played there.
"It's No1 against No10, there's nowhere to go but up for us but it doesn't matter where either team sits on the table," Taurua said. "If any team can knock them over, it's us. We have the firepower, the capability and the history to go there and win and that's quite exciting - we just need to put it out there, do the job."
Round 4 matches
Today: 4.20pm, Southern Steel v West Coast Fever, Dunedin
Tomorrow: 2pm (NZT), Melbourne Vixens v Waikato/BOP Magic, Melbourne; 2.20pm, NSW Swifts v Queensland Firebirds, Sydney; 7.20pm, Northern Mystics v Adelaide Thunderbirds, Auckland
Monday: 7.40pm, Central Pulse v Canterbury Tactix, Porirua
