The Central Pulse is bracing itself for a physical battle against the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Wellington this weekend.
The robust performances by Australian defenders Mo'onia Gerrard and Geva Mentor in the past two rounds of the ANZ Championship have been a talking point after Queensland Firebirds shooter Romelda Aitken was given a torrid time two weeks ago and Southern Steel shooters Megan Dehn and Daneka Wipiiti were put under the blow torch last weekend.
But Pulse shooter Jane Altschwager reckons her former team-mates' attitude and delivery is no different to previous years.
"They are just two people trying to get the ball like everybody else on the court," she said.
"If that means you're standing in the road then you're probably going to cop it. [But] everyone else is doing the same thing on the court. They probably just do it a little bit harder sometimes."
The Australian teams' one-on-one defending has caused the New Zealand sides problems since the trans-Tasman competition began and so far this season that shows little sign of changing.
In last weekend's rivalry round only the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic managed a win with the Steel, Canterbury Tactix, Pulse and Northern Mystics all losing heavily to their Australian counterparts.
The Pulse fell away badly in its second half against the New South Wales Swifts after leading 25-22 at half-time, eventually losing 36-50.
But midcourter Camilla Lees said backing up against the Thunderbirds at TSB Bank Arena this weekend would hopefully work in the Pulse's favour.
"It was good to have the Swifts last week to get us into that defensive style. They are very much man-on-man and we've learned a lot from last week. We're trying to get better placement of our passes and get in better positions to get the ball."
Lees also dismissed the notion that the game was becoming too physical and aggressive.
"That's just how the game's developing and we all have to toughen up and be prepared to take it."
Saturday afternoon's match will be the first time Altschwager has faced her old team since making the switch to the Pulse.
"I try not to let it add spice to the occasion. I've done it a few times in my career and you just have to treat it like any other game and make sure you're more focused on what you need to do on court," she added.
But the Pulse skipper, who had her best performance of the season last week, admitted coming up against players who knew her game well would be a challenge.
"That's why you always need to keep a few tricks up your sleeve regardless of who you are playing with or against and whether it's the last time you'll play them or not. You just need to make sure you've got a few things left in the bag you can pull out."