Netball player marks double century of games

TARA Condon has just celebrated her two-hundredth game with Heathcote Football Netball Club with the current A Reserve player first taking to the court eighteen years ago.

“I started in the Under 17 side in 2005 when I was 15 turning 16,” she said. “But I’ve played a few seasons away at other clubs and I’ve had two or three seasons off with the kids as well.”

Condon also coached the Saints’ 15 and under and 17 and under teams over consecutive years in the early 2010s, with the latter finishing as runners up in the premiership race.

As a player she still has her sights set on the season’s top spot.

“A Reserve has never won a premiership at Heathcote, but I would love to be a part of that,” she said. “It’s probably some of the motivation that’s driven me to the 200-game milestone.

“I think the ladder probably doesn’t reflect where we should be sitting at the moment.

“We’ve been able to hold within 10 goals of all the sides in the top five and against the lower part of the ladder as well.

“We’re a developing side, there’s a lot of younger girls that have been in the A Reserve squad for a couple of years now.

“But I’m also mindful that moving forward my days could be in the lower grades as well, it’s all dependent how my body goes.”

Condon said her previous experiences with Heathcote FNC drew her back after playing for other clubs.

“Heathcote offers something really unique in the sense of that connection to community,” she said.

“I grew up in Heathcote and went to primary school there, my family was local at the time and moved to Heathcote before I was born.

“So having that grassroots level of connection to community has been really important and meaningful for me as a player.

“There’s that sense of belonging to something that’s bigger than just you playing a sport on a Saturday or playing a team game, that’s what I really love about the club.”