The ever smiling, invariably good natured shooter has her heart set on being nothing less than an outright menace.
The Magic have taken the long road to the grand final. After losing 56-57 to the NSW Swifts in the major semifinal last Sunday, they now have to down minor semifinal winners the Thunderbirds to make the grand final on July 28.
Van Dyk has played the last two games at goal attack, moved out from her regular role to give Maria Tutaia time to settle into her shooting game at the back.
Although she has relished the challenge, the South African-born shooter is only too aware of her shortcomings.
"I definitely need to improve my defence. I reckon I can be more of a menace. Because I'm so tall I should be able to get more of the midcourt, they're so much shorter than me," she told NZPA.
"I just need to be a menace, so if I get a tip I slow the ball down for our midcourt to come through for the intercept. I really think I can do much more on defence."
Van Dyk, who shot at 100 percent from goal attack in the loss against the Swifts, has been revelling in the extra challenges offered by her change in position.
"It's giving me another view of the game, I've been treasuring every moment out there.
"It's great to have a little bit of variety and I think it will enhance my game when I go back to goal shoot as well, because I can see where the goal attacks are coming from," she said.
Van Dyk is looking forward to a full-on, no-holds-barred battle when the Magic take the court at Mystery Creek tomorrow.
The Thunderbirds recovered from the worst possible start in last Monday's minor semifinal against the more favoured Melbourne Vixens.
They may have taken five minutes to score their first goal, but at the other end of the game they scored at will to close out a 53-48 victory.
The manner of the win left van Dyk with nothing but praise for the Adelaide-based team.
"That was a typical Aussie battle. It was very physical and I thought it showed what a class team the Thunderbirds were.
"They did have that shaky start, but they proved their worth by coming back absolutely firing."
The Vixens' strengths were obvious right through the court, she said, from the defensive pairing of Geva Mentor and Mo'onia Gerrard to midcourt marshal Laura van Bertouch and the dynamic shooting duo of Kate Beveridge and Natalie Medhurst.
Van Dyk particularly rates the impact Medhurst has been making at the business end of the competition.
"She's just like a little general dictating what happens on the attacking side of things. She had an absolutely incredible game against the Vixens -- I rate her in the same class as Sharelle McMahon."
Van Dyk has no doubts the Magic can better the Thunderbirds providing they put together a full 60-minute effort.
"We haven't had that consistency yet. Against a team like the Thunderbirds, you have to pull out the full performance. If you go into a game like that with only 45 minutes, that's not going to cut it."
