Janene Gattuso looks back on her time as netball director of Mooroopna Football Netball Club

For Janene Gattuso, that crest belongs to Mooroopna Football Netball Club.

Gattuso’s relationship with the Cats began 17 years ago and has grown to transcend mere devotion; it’s an intimate dance between heart and home.

But as the final siren sounds on her time as netball director of the club, Gattuso won’t be walking away entirely — quite the opposite.

The long-standing Mooroopna servant is instead shifting from centre stage — or court — to the bleachers as she intends to take a back seat and enjoy watching her daughter, Georgia, play without the onus of an official title.

In a quaint twist, this brings the outgoing netball director’s journey full circle.

“Funnily enough, I actually started the Mooroopna Cats Netball Club,” she said.

“I have been involved in netball since my daughter Georgia was seven – she is now 24.

“I ran St Mary’s Mooroopna Primary School netball until she was in Grade 6.

“Georgia then decided that she didn’t want to play with Notre Dame, so I amalgamated all the surrounding schools in Mooroopna as far as Toolamba and started the Mooroopna Cats Netball Club, along with a small contingent of other parents.”

Gattuso pooled resources and pitched the idea to Mooroopna Rotary Club in 2012, where she and others were granted $3000 to buy netball bags, bibs, first aid equipment, netballs and uniforms.

And like the old saying goes, ‘‘build it and they shall come’’.

With a new hive of excitement buzzing west of the Goulburn River, Mooroopna Cats Netball Club welcomed 20 teams comprised of more than 200 girls in its first year, playing across the majority of the Shepparton Netball Association age grades.

When her daughter was of age to step into the Goulburn Valley League threshold, Gattuso repurposed herself to align with the club’s senior netball fold.

Almost a decade later, in 2023, Gattuso’s name echoed down the halls of history as Mooroopna achieved something never before seen in club lore.

For the first time all five netball teams made the finals series.

The 17-and-under side became premier, the 15-and-under outfit finished runner-up and two Cats won GVL best-and-fairest medals, to reel off a few notables.

Who was there to revel in the glory this season? Gattuso.

But who was there when Mooroopna’s story wasn’t so rosy, when numbers were down, spirits were low and wins came few and far between? Also Gattuso.

“To think that all those years ago we were begging players to come and play for Mooroopna,” she said.

“It’s definitely harder to attract players when you are in the lower spots on the ladder.

“We were so limited with coaching staff. Our players had talent, but they needed to be moulded.

“We started a plan with Jen Barlow and knew it would take some time to build.

“Jen was the master of the court, she moulded the group of girls we had and slowly but surely success came bit by bit.”

Gattuso listed the 2018 death of coaching great Jenny Barlow as one of the hardest moments she’s endured at Mooroopna.

“The toughest experience the girls ever had to handle was the passing of our beloved coach Jen Barlow,” she said.

“It was such a hard year both personally and for the club with Jen being unwell throughout the season.

“She was an unbelievably awesome person and such a highly respected coach — Jen was tough on the girls, but they needed it.”

That year, Mooroopna’s A-grade contingent landed inside the finals bracket for the first time — Barlow’s parting gift to the club.

The Cats lost by 13 goals to a Di Hanslow-led Shepparton United in the elimination bout, but as fate intended, Hanslow soon joined Mooroopna to continue Barlow’s legacy.

Though coaching is often a thankless job and Gattuso knows it.

“Another tough experience has been seeing some players come and go; you always need to leave the door open,” she said.

“Player payments are becoming ridiculous and seeing girls leave just because they can be paid more somewhere else is really disheartening.

“I don’t envy coaches at all, trying to pick teams and keep everyone happy is a hard gig, something I will never do.”

In the years since Hanslow’s appointment, Gattuso’s daughter made history as the first netballer to come through the junior SNA ranks and play 150 senior games.

She was awarded her flowers in July this year, which was another memory Gattuso wrapped tight to her mantle, a tapestry woven from years of dedication where every stitch signifies passion, resilience and unwavering commitment.

“The best parts are obviously the Mooroopna girls and coaches, the different girls that come and go from the club,” Gattuso said.

“(I love) liaising with other netball co-ordinators from each GVL club and the friendships you make along the way.

“The main responsibility, I feel, is looking after the club as a whole and doing what is best for the club.

“Many parents only have one child to focus on whilst a game is being played – you have to focus on what is best for the group of girls, not just one.”

It’s hard to grasp the sun is setting on Gattuso’s storied career as Mooroopna’s netball director.

But in her own words, “I’m tired”.

There are not many figures around the GVL netball space who deserve it more to kick up their feet, enjoy the view and watch a new dawn break at the Cats — which is precisely what she intends to do.

“I’ve done what I can, it may not have been right, but it’s all I’ve known,” she said.

“It’s time for some new blood to come forward and keep steering the club.

“It has been a long haul and I’m looking forward to watching Georgia play from a chair on the sidelines.”