Warrnambool Mermaids' sister act Louise Brown and Carly Pulling chasing 2017 Big V championship success

The siblings are part of the all-conquering Mermaids’ roster which will chase Big V championship success on Saturday night.

Brown, who at 33 is 11 years older than her sibling, said Pulling’s impact on the Mermaids’ fortunes could not be underestimated.

Pulling, who is nominated for the Big V division two defensive player of the year award, is averaging 28 minutes a game running the point.

“I can admit I am probably a bit harder on her than some of the other girls,” Brown said.

“I love coaching her. She’s a really different player to me in my day and to be honest there’s probably no one else on our team who plays like her.

“She’s really quick, she’s a little bulldog that just gets in there and has a good dip.

“She’s the smallest player on our team but she’s one of our best defensive players and she often polls very high in the rebound count for our team.”

Brown built her career – one which included a stint in the WNBL – as a defensively-minded point guard.

But she said she differed in playing style to her younger sister.

“I am probably a bit more of a vocal point guard whereas Carly is probably not as much of a natural point guard,” Brown said. 

“She probably plays better in that two spot and I am a bit more of a general and take a bit more of control of the game.

“That’s one part of Carly’s game that we’ve really tried to develop this year and make her take that bit of leadership and ownership in controlling the game a bit more.

“I haven’t played a huge amount of minutes and the couple of times I have gone on it’s been to give Carly a little bit of a rest in that point position.”

Pulling said Brown’s approach had made her a better player.

“I like that she can be pretty honest and brutal with me because at the end of the day, if you need to know something then you need to be told and I guess,” she said.

“She taught me a lot of things, especially this year coming back into the game after having four years off I was a bit rusty.”

Warrnambool is hoping to wrap up the best-of-three grand final series on Saturday night at the Arc, having demolished Wallan Panthers 83-39 in game one.

But Brown is wary of dismissing the Panthers, expecting them to come out firing in hostile territory.

“It’s going to be tough and if we’re not switched on and ready to play it definitely is a bit of a danger game and there will be potential for it to go to a third game,” she said.