Echuca United will welcome back a homegrown star next season, with Tanner Edwards set to return to the Eagles as the club’s A-grade netball playing coach.
Having played junior and senior netball at the club, Edwards has spent the previous three years plying her trade for Shepparton in Goulburn Valley League, but is excited about the prospect of returning to the Eagles.
“Echuca United has always been home for me,” she said.
“I always said when the time was right and, I guess, when the fit was right, I would always go back home and I think that time and the fit is right just about now.
“I've had a great experience over at Shepp the past few years and I've learned quite a lot, so I think I'm able to now come back home and finally be able to implement all of that knowledge and things that I've learned back at United.”
Edwards has already tasted the ultimate success at United as part of the A-grade side that claimed the 2019 flag, turning in a performance that earned her best-on-court honours.
With 187 club games under her belt and junior and senior best-and-fairest awards to boot, Edwards will bring a wealth of experience back to her childhood club, which she intends to pass on to next the generation coming through.
“I think I've learned a lot throughout the past three years over at Shepp and I feel like I've had quite a big personal growth,” she said.
“Not only that, but when I was at United in my junior years I was very fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to get that senior run and that senior development.
“So I would really love to be able to, as an A-grade coach and a head coach, be able to give that junior development and also that integration into that senior development side.
“I think it's a really integral part of a club, not just having a senior and junior separation, but having it intertwined and be able to develop those juniors into those senior grades as well.”
Co-coaches from 2023, Kate Donehue and Asher Arnel, will complete the Eagles’ coaching panel next season, with the duo staying on board as assistants to Edwards, who is excited to be working alongside the pair.
“I have (spoken to them), we've had some really, really great talks and quite some positive talks in regard to hopefully some of our player recruitments coming up,” she said.
“We're all really excited and I'm very fortunate enough to have Asher and Kate sitting on my bench and assisting, because I know it's quite hard.
“I will be a playing coach as well, so it's one thing to be coaching while I'm playing, but I'm also having that extra eyes on the sideline as well for me.”
While it will be Edwards’ first coaching appointment, she is not shying away from the ultimate goal, with a premiership well and truly on her radar given the squad she will be working with.
“I think at the end of the day everyone wants to be holding up that premiership cup in September,” she said.
“So of course that's certainly something that I'm wanting to be striving to and, as the girls did this year, they were able to make finals, just unfortunately being knocked out in that first round.
“But obviously (I) just want to strive to be able to get through that finals series and at the end of the day be able to hold up that cup. So hopefully with all of our hard work and our determination moving on into next year we will be able to pull that off.”