Playing without centre Meg McKay and sweet-shooting forward Demi Skinner because of injuries, the new-look Spirit showed flashes of good play, but overall have plenty of work to do ahead of the start of the regular season in two weeks.

"They jumped us at the start, but to our credit we pulled the margin back to three points midway through the second quarter,'' Spirit coach Tracy York said.

"Turnovers and execution hurt us and we were down a couple of injuries which hurt our rotations.

"The good thing about pre-season games is that it shows what you need to work on.

"Southside is a quality outfit, so it was good to play them to see where we're at.

"We'll have a video session tomorrow and have a look at the things we need to work on."

Two of the Spirit's recruits were outstanding against the Flyers.

Maddie Garrick led the way offensively with 23 points, while Annelie Maley had 15 points and 20 rebounds.

"I was happy with the players that we recruited in,'' York said.

"We had some good offensive stuff in parts, but we need to pick up on the defensive end and that will come once we get some more time together."

The Spirit's final pre-season game is against the Melbourne Boomers on Thursday afternoon at Bendigo Stadium.

"After that we'll finalise where we're at and get everyone ready for that first game of the season,'' York said.

The Spirit's season-opener is against Southside in Melbourne on December 4.

The club's first home game is on December 8 against the Melbourne Boomers.

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