NSW Swifts players Mo'Onia Gerrard and UK import Sonia Mkoloma will form a strong combination for the season ahead. Picture: Mark Evans Source: The Daily Telegraph
THE NSW Swifts have shored up their defence with England's Sonia Mkoloma joining Australian ace Mo'onia Gerrard in the backline for the 2012 trans-Tasman netball league.
While their attack has been left exposed by the move to Perth of captain and ace shooter Catherine Cox, the Swifts will now boast one of the most formidable defence ends in the competition.
While Rebecca Bulley decided to make a move to Adelaide in the offseason, Mkoloma has opted to stay with the Swifts for another season as the NSW outfits lone import.
Mkoloma will arrive in Australia in time for the pre-season in January.
Also staying put with the Swifts in 2012 is shooter Susan Pratley and centre-courter Kim Green.
Green was part of the Australian team which in July beat New Zealand by one in overtime to win the world netball championships in Singapore.
The Swifts will boast a new coach in 2012 with Lisa Beehag replacing newly appointed Australian assistant coach Julie Fitzgerald.
The decision of long-serving Australian coach Norma Plummer to coach a trans-Tasman league team for the first time in 2012 has seen her chosen outfit, the West Coast Fever, emerge as one of the early favourites to dominate next season's competition.
