The heart is what keeps most things alive.
In a literal sense, it pumps the blood that carries oxygen and nutrients around the body.
In a figurative sense, the heart acts as the soul that keeps everything, tangible and intangible, alive and running.
For example, a football netball club.
When thinking of what a heart-and-soul player for a sporting club means, they do everything they can for the club on the court, but also off it.
Tatura Football Netball Club has been a part of the region for 130 years; during that time, countless people would have been seen as the heart and soul of the club.
Nowadays, young A-grade star Elsie Boyer has become the Bulldogs’ heartbeat.
Growing up, Boyer always bled red, white and blue.
After playing in the inaugural Goulburn Valley League under-15 netball competition, Boyer was invited to join Victorian Netball League side, City West Falcons.
Since then, Boyer has juggled Tatura and Victorian Netball League commitments — two years ago, she switched to Boroondara Express, where she now plays in the 23-and-under side.
In addition to her playing commitments, the young gun has taken on a plethora of roles at the club, including being A-grade co-coach alongside her good friend Steph Smith-Gorrie.
“It’s different playing-coaching and it’s a challenge, but it is a fun challenge,” Boyer said.
“I’m pretty lucky to be doing it with one of my best friends in Steph, and then we also have my mum Fiona supporting us.
“We have a great group of girls on the court who have also coached and they all put in as well, so that makes it a lot easier.
“Rather than just two voices, we have eight voices out on the court.”
If being a star of the midcourt, coaching an A-grade finals side and occasionally helping out as an umpire weren’t already enough, Boyer has also been Tatura’s social media manager for the past few seasons.
All of this at just 19 years of age.
However, the enormous amount of time and effort Boyer pours into her beloved Bulldogs doesn’t feel like work to her as she said she naturally wants to do it for the club.
“I really enjoy the social media stuff as I live on my laptop, so I love that side of it,” she said.
“I think it all fell into my hands.
“(All the roles) just came naturally and I enjoy doing it, so I just keep doing it.
“I love the club, I love the people and you want to do things for the people you love.”
After tough consecutive losses to ladder leaders Mooroopna and Euroa, Tatura has bounced back in the past few weeks with three wins, including an important tight victory over sixth-placed Seymour.
The Bulldogs are now in fourth place on the ladder, one win behind third-placed Echuca and two points ahead of fifth-placed Shepparton.
With two rounds remaining in the season, Boyer hopes her experience playing for Boroondara Express in the Victorian Netball League can help her guide Tatura deep into finals.
“(VNL is) lots of travelling, but I think you reap the rewards from the elite level training and playing against other girls down there on a weekly basis,” she said.
“It only makes it easier and better back here.
“(Tatura) had a little bit of a tough run there where we played Mooroopna and Euroa, but other than that, it has been super fun.
“We have a great bunch of girls and I think you don’t just play the sport for game day; you play it for the friendships and we have a great group of girls, so that makes it 1000 times better.”
During the past couple of seasons Boyer has emerged as a star in Goulburn Valley League.
Unfortunately for Boyer, her rise to the top provided the 19-year-old with the toughest moment in her young career.
At last year’s Goulburn Valley League awards night, Boyer was named the competition’s best-and-fairest, but a day later, during an audit, the league realised it had made a mistake.
The award was taken back and given to the eventual winner, Seymour’s Sarah Szczykulski.
The experience was tough for Boyer, who was in her first season as player-coach, but the young gun said she learned a lot from what happened.
“I think that is part of life; you have adversity thrown at you,” she said.
“It’s not the biggest deal in the world, no-one died.
“At the end of the day, I’m glad I went through it because I learned a lot about myself and how to deal with adversity.
“I came out of it as a better person.”
The experience was challenging for Boyer, her family and the club, but the young leader gracefully accepted what happened to her at the time.
Now, nearly one year later, Boyer said she had long moved past it.
“Literally, I have turned the page,” she said.
“I play netball for my team and grand finals.
“It’s only made me want a premiership medal even more.”
Boyer’s talents on and off the field aren’t known only by those at Tatura and here at The News.
In 2023, the young gun was named Tatura Australia Day Sportsperson of the Year and Greater Shepparton Sportsperson of the Year for her contribution to sport in the community.
“It was funny,” she said.
“My mum planned for us to train and then, as a club, go down to the ceremony,” she said.
“I had no idea, but then I started to clue onto it.
“It was a real shock to begin with; it was really rewarding to be noticed and recognised coming from a small country town.
“It was a special day.”
Outside of netball, Boyer is following her mum into the profession of speech pathology.
Boyer currently studies in Bendigo and, while she may move elsewhere to work once she finishes her degree, her loyalty to the Bulldogs will never waiver.
“I don’t really know what the future holds,” she said.
“There might be an opportunity to move.
“But I can’t see myself playing anywhere else other than here.”