Megan O’Bree isn’t afraid to chuckle when talking about her long-standing netball career.
When she dons the dress for Euroa on Saturday, it’ll mark the 350th occasion she has done so and, while a select few have the durability and drive to reach the mark, O‘Bree made light of the magnitude of reaching such a milestone.
“Most of them are not silly enough to do so,” she said with a laugh.
“While I can still play I will continue to carry on – I think the body tells you when it’s time to stop.
“Interestingly, the players I played with when I first started out, I’m now playing with their daughters.”
The veteran midcourter has racked up 235 A-grade games, 91 B-grade games and 23 in B-reserve and now has led Euroa’s B-grade side to a 2-0 start in the season as captain.
She’s a Magpie through and through, only leaving the club in the 2000s to play at Yea for a handful of years.
But since returning O’Bree has been a staple in black and white, playing up until last year where a rare break from the game had her take the season off to have a baby, still getting involved through coaching Euroa’s 17-and-under team.
With a throng of juniors making the step up into senior netball, that morsel of inspiration to play alongside her proteges – some of whose mothers she’d once called teammates in the early days – was enough to get O’Bree back out on the court in 2023.
“There were a number of those girls who I coached which stepped into seniors this season, so to play alongside them is pretty good,” she said.
“It’s awesome to see the rise of the young ones alongside a handful of ‘us oldies’ as we call ourselves.
“They look forward to it and it’s great to help them out and give a bit of guidance.
“I don’t think we’re setting specific aspirations for this season, it’s more about helping the younger ones enjoy their netball.”
A stern test against Seymour lies in waiting for Euroa on Saturday, but a win would edge the Magpies’ B-graders a game closer to an elusive premiership berth.
It’s no coincidence Euroa’s last senior netball flag featured O’Bree in the line-up.
The Magpies’ B-grade side enjoyed a sparkling 2019 season, breaking a 36-year premiership drought with a 36-26 victory over Echuca at Deakin Reserve in 2019.
What arrived that day was a welcomed bit of silverware for O’Bree, who had stuck through all the hard times at Euroa to savour the fruits of her labour.
And you bet it tasted sweet.
“The B-grade premiership in 2019 probably stands out as one of the more memorable achievements, especially considering the club hadn’t won a premiership in around 30 years,” she said.
“I think the first couple of hundred games, we were realistically close to the bottom of the ladder and were on the receiving end of a few big losses.
“But for me, it’s always been about the social side at the club.”