Geitz admits she’s not quite at her best

LAURA Geitz is going back to basics to coax her body through this Netball World Cup year.

Seemingly unbreakable in leading the Queensland Firebirds to a fourth straight ANZ Championship victory on Saturday, Geitz conceded after the game she was anything but indestructible.

Sporting an ice pack on the knee she had repaired at the end of last year, the Australia and Queensland captain has volunteered for extra agility homework to ensure she keeps pace with the world’s best goalers each week.

Last year’s knee surgery not only denied her a Test series against England, it prevented the goalkeeper from participating in much of her club’s preseason conditioning and court work.

The skipper feels she is still lagging in terms of speed and footwork.

Geitz said she felt below par at times in the game against Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, when she was tangling with Jo Harten, one of the best shooters in the world.

The Queenslander had already begun to gain the upper hand in that match- up but lifted even more in the last term to finish the game with five gains, two intercepts and seven deflections.

“I thought Harten had the wood over me in that first half. She was pretty lethal,” Geitz said.

“I need to do a little more on my footwork. I got caught out a few times.”

Geitz will have another tough opponent on Sunday when she goes head- to- head with Northern Mystics shooter Cathrine Latu in Auckland.