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It\u2019s a moment the 17-year-old will cherish forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther than the end score, I was alright with the game,\u201d McGee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t actually know when I got there (to Dower Park) that (four-time premiership shooter) Bec Smith wasn\u2019t playing, so I was expecting maybe 30 seconds on court.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat probably helped, as I went in not nervous because I didn\u2019t know I\u2019d be playing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then we were 12 or 15 goals down when I came on near the end of the first quarter, so there wasn\u2019t a lot of pressure on me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was happy just to stay on until the end and get the experience under the belt.\u201d<\/p>\n
While she has not played A-grade since, it\u2019s only a matter of how soon she will she be able to nail down a regular spot in the line-up.<\/p>\n
McGee continued to be a heavy factor in the Dragons\u2019 climb into last Saturday\u2019s A-reserve grand final, where they were beaten by Kangaroo Flat.<\/p>\n
The loss came 12 months after the young sharpshooter dominated grand final day, winning 17-and-under and B-reserve premierships with the Dragons, and claiming the best on court medal in the B-reserve triumph.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty good. Neve (Pinner) and I, who was also in the B-res game with me, we often talk about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt couldn\u2019t have gone any better.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGee, who will make the step up to a permanent Strikers 23-and-under player in 2026 after recently being contracted, will be aiming to make every post a winner at VNL level, while doing her utmost to preserve Sandhurst\u2019s reputation as a BFNL powerhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be off to uni in Melbourne, but the plan is to go for another premiership up here,\u201d said McGee, who is targeting a bio-medicine degree.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have Bendigo Strikers games, training on Sundays and Saturdays with Sandhurst, so a bit to juggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m sure it will work out well.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGee praised the support and influence of her Sandhurst coach Tamara Gilchrist for having the belief in her to play A-grade; Strikers 23-and-under coach Carol Cathcart; her parents; and Strikers club-mate Shae Clifford.<\/p>\n
\u201cShae has taken me to every single training as a fellow Castlemanian,\u201d she said about this year\u2019s Betty Thompson medallist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m basically about two houses away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spend a lot of time in the car with her and am so lucky to learn so much from her on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGee is the sixth winner of the Rising Star award from Sandhurst since its inception in 2008.<\/p>\n
She follows in the footsteps of some big names in Maddison Exell (2008), Abby Gilmore (2009), Chloe Watson (2011), Shae Clifford (2022) and Charlotte Sexton (2023).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A YEAR filled with accolades has only served to make fast-emerging Sandhurst goal shooter Claire McGee humbler and determined to work even harder on her netball craft. The 17-year-old landed another big honour by being named the BFNL\u2019s Rising Star winner for 2025. It followed a big season in maroon and blue, highlighted by her […]<\/p>\n