Netball: Gerrard has plan for Van Dyk

Australian netball defender Mo'onia Gerrard looks up to Silver Ferns goalshoot Irene Van Dyk. She has no choice.

"She's massive, she's a monster," says Gerrard, who is returning to the Australian side after an injury-plagued two years for Saturday's trans-Tasman test in Brisbane.

"What are you supposed to do with someone who is six plus, what is she six foot four? Sometimes I wish I had a ladder in my back pocket."

The long and the short of it is that the Kiwi ace is 1.9m, while Gerrard stands at 1.8m.

The pair have had limited time on court against each other, with Gerrard rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in a knee in only her second clash against the Silver Ferns a year ago.

Her return and that of co-captain Liz Ellis -- who also missed the Commonwealth Games in March after knee surgery -- have boosted the Australians' confidence they will perform better against van Dyk, who has dominated in the last three trans-Tasman tests.

But how does a shorty in netball terms deal with a "monster" like van Dyk.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see on Saturday. I might knock her knees off," says a chuckling Gerrard, noted for a laidback humour off the court in contrast to an intense presence on it.

Gerrard, 23, says as much as she likes to think she can outjump the giraffes she defends against, she compensates by concentrating on defence tactics closer to the floor.

"I'm pretty short, so I do my best work on the ground."

Australian coach Norma Plummer says Gerrard is a "huge talent", who can shut opponents down.

She also brings aggression to the Australian defence, perhaps springing from a competitive sports upbringing.

The Sydneysider has an Australian father, who was good at rugby and cricket, and a Tongan mother, who holds long-standing records at athletics in her home country.

Gerrard's brother Mark plays rugby on the wing for the Wallabies.

"Everyone in the family is sporty and healthy and all of us want to get out and have a go," Gerrard says.

She came to netball relatively late as a 12-year-old, after excelling at athletics and basketball.

There was no household pressure on the youngsters to perform at sport and while she says she wasn't competitive against Mark, two years her junior, he was always trying to match her in the sports they played.

"I always used to laugh it off, but he always tried to be No 1 at home."

These days the pair are more supportive than competitive as they have a common goal in trying to down their trans-Tasman rivals in their chosen respective sports.

Though she notes Mark is not too bad at netball -- "he doesn't mind wearing a skirt", she jousts.

Gerrard says it is great to be back in the Australian outfit after a fractured ankle ruined her season in 2004, after just three tests under her belt, then the knee injury last year.

Unlike Ellis, who hated watching the Commonwealth Games because she couldn't take part, Gerrard said she was excited for her teammates at making the final, but determined at the same time to fight her way back from her injury woes into the side.

She thinks she can make a difference, even though she is not yet at the top of her game.

"I've only had two encounters against (the Silver Ferns), so they don't really know what I am doing and I have been watching them on video and see that as an advantage for my side, though you can't underestimate any of them on court.

"Hopefully I'm on song with my game."

She says that whatever she is able to do in the current two-match series -- the second test in Sydney on Tuesday night -- she will improve as the season progresses.

And she notes a confidence in the Australian team camp and predicts an upset on Saturday night.

"The girls are pretty confident. There are a few scars there from the Com Games and they are wanting to push their mark and show what they should have got in March.

"I think we will be up by five or six (points) on Saturday."

- NZPA