Her rugby union-playing brother Hugh boasts the nickname "Madness" for his fearless instincts, but Clare McMeniman will bank on "calculated aggression" to help her win a spot in the Australian Diamonds squad to play in Canberra next month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
McMeniman is in the capital to launch her hopes of being included in the Diamonds squad three years after she retired from netball.
Hugh McMeniman has played 22 Tests for the Wallabies and has earned a reputation as being one of the most abrasive forwards in world rugby because of his reckless regard for his own safety.
"We're so different in the way we play ... he gets white-line fever and changes when he gets on the field. I'm more calculated in my aggression," Clare McMeniman laughed.
"But we're both hard-working players, that's the similarity between the two of us. He has no respect for his body but I'll be a bit more controlled."
McMeniman is part of a defence specialists' training camp at the AIS in Canberra and hopes to press her claims for a Test debut.
The Diamonds play England at the AIS Arena on October 22 in a game expected to attract a sellout crowd.
Former AIS Canberra Darter McMeniman quit netball in 2011 after the Queensland Firebirds' flawless championship season.
She spent two years working as a speech pathologist in Brisbane before deciding she had unfinished business in the ANZ Championship.
McMeniman was also part of the Diamonds' Commonwealth Games squad, but was cut before the team went on to win a gold medal in Glasgow.
"I felt I achieved the things I wanted to [in 2011]. But I decided there was a lot more I wanted to get individually and with the Firebirds," McMeniman said.
"In the two years I had off, I had a complete break. I didn't play any netball, I did a run-walk marathon and that was about it."
McMeniman still works full-time as a speech pathologist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane in the Firebirds' off-season.
She took time out of her training schedule on Tuesday to go to The Woden School as part of a Netball Australia clinic.
The Woden School offers a high school and college program for students with a mild to moderate intellectual disability. McMeniman put them through a series of skills drills.
"It's a great opportunity to take netball to some people who may not have played before," McMeniman said.
McMeniman said Canberra had a place in Australia's netball schedule, but felt fans should vote with their feet.
"I played with the AIS Canberra Darters in the old Commonwealth Bank trophy ... the most important thing for the Tests is big fan numbers. If that happens, it's more likely games come back."
