Without a Constellation Cup win and lingering questions over stood-down coach Noeline Taurua, captain Karin Burger knows New Zealand's Silver Ferns will return to home soil facing the noise.
The hosts will have plenty of soul-searching to do in the lead-up to Sunday's third Test against the Diamonds in Hamilton after a second-straight defeat in the netball series.
After suffering a 69-52 defeat to open their defence of the trans-Tasman trophy in Melbourne, the Silver Ferns crashed out to a 68-51 loss in Sydney on Wednesday.
The visitors were no match for the home side in the second Test, with Australia shooting 21 goals to nine in the decisive third quarter at Qudos Bank Arena.
New Zealand skipper Burger admits her side were on the back foot in game two as they continue to navigate off-court turmoil.
The defending Cup champions are led by interim coach Yvette McCausland-Durie after Taurua was stood down in September following player complaints about her communication style. There is no timeline for her return.
"It's uncharted territory for us at the moment, obviously not where we want it to be," Burger said after the Sydney loss.
"For us, there's a lot of emotions going on in the background that we have to deal with.
"Physically, we are capable of doing it. It's just that mental edge.
"That's probably clogging our brains a little bit at the moment and stopping us.
"But it's a high-performance sport, we have to suck it up, we just have to do it."
The Silver Ferns will have home court advantage to finish the series and will host game four in Christchurch after the third Test.
Though wary of the growing discontent surrounding New Zealand Netball's coaching call, Burger believes a home crowd will be invaluable.
New Zealand sports minister Mark Mitchell had issued a warning ahead of the second Test, calling on Sports New Zealand to resolve the conflict as the saga was drawing out.
"I know there's a lot of noise out there," Burger said.
"But I do know that we do have a big support system as well, people who want to see the best for us.
"Knowing that we do have that crowd, so they'll be the eighth player there, it'll be quite good.
"We couldn't get a win here in Australia, which means it goes down to New Zealand for us.
"Hopefully, fingers crossed with the backing of our supporters over there, we'll be able to put out a good performance."
Australia have not won across the Tasman since 2021, when they played all four Tests in Christchurch due to COVID restrictions.
