Matilda is 5th generation Rokewood-Corindhap

ONE girl was set to get on court for the first time at the weekend not just for her club, but her family.

Matilda Mellington was to play her first game of netball for Rokewood-Corindhap on Saturday 27 June.

However, the milestone was that extra bit special, as Matilda is the fifth generation of her family to be part of the club.

“Matilda is most excited about wearing the green and white dress like mum and playing netball with her friends,” her mother Jess Mellington said.

Jess is a stalwart of the Grasshoppers.

She started with the club when it was in the Lexton Plains league. She played 99 junior games. At the moment, Jess is sitting on 242 senior games with hopes of reaching her 250th.

Before Jess, Sharon Buttler began playing when she was 12 years old. She won many awards throughout her playing days but had to give up netball at 17 because she got a job.

However, when her daughters started playing, Sharon began coaching juniors and helping around the club.

When Rokewood played in the Western Plains league, Curly Buttler started playing football for the club during the 1950s.

The tyranny of boarding school was not an insurmountable challenge for Curly, because he would travel out to play with his mates. Success was part of Curly’s time on the ground. He was a member of the club’s 1960 and 1963 premiership sides.

When the club was black and white and matches were still being held at Corindhap’s oval, George Buttler started playing.

He won a premiership in 1921 and played until he was 40 years old.