Demi Hendy and Mooroopna were brought together by fate.
After losing her 17-and-under grand final with Katunga last year she already had more in common with her new club than she may have thought as the Cats’ 17-and-under side also fell at the final hurdle in 2022.
Iron sharpens iron, so to better her own game Hendy moved across to the Cattery.
Now she is a premiership winner and the most-valuable-player in Mooroopna’s storied win and she couldn’t be happier at her new home.
“Last year I played in the Picola league and we lost our grand final and the girls lost their grand final last year here,” she said.
“(I joined Mooroopna) just the competition and our coaches, they’ve just been awesome.
“They asked us to come along for a challenge and it was the best decision we made.
“It’s just amazing and I love the girls, it’s a brand new group of girls, but they’re all my new best friends and I just love them all to bits.
“So it was so good to be able to experience it with them.”
Hendy was an undeniable force through the midcourt for Mooroopna in the grand final.
She started the match in wing attack before switching to centre after half-time, reversing her usual postional change.
It plunged her into a skirmish with Shepparton superstar Mackenzie O’Dwyer, a challenge she took with both hands and ran.
“It’s normally the other way round, but it was good, I think I had a lot to give in the end just to help get us over the line,” she said.
“So it was really good to push myself and see how I could go.
“I love Mackenzie, she’s a sensational player and she always pushes me to my limits, so it was really good to have a go against her.
“I was extremely nervous this morning, but all the girls were backing me, backing each other.
“We had so much support from family and coaches and we just wanted to go out there and play for them.”