Twenty years ago Tallygaroopna reintroduced its junior netball program into the Kyabram District League competition and thank goodness it did.
If the Redlegs hadn’t, they may have missed out on two young sisters ― one of which was too young to play competitive netball at the time ― who would go on to be almost as Tally-centric as the roadrunner on the club’s crest.
They are Melissa and Deanne Hosie, who play their combined 600th game for Tallygaroopna on Saturday.
Deanne lines up for game 250 against Dookie United in C-grade, a milestone she may never have got to if not for a value which runs like water among the club: family.
“2003 was Tally’s first year of bringing juniors back into the league, Melissa and I were actually in that team,” she said.
“I filled in a couple of times because I actually wasn’t quite old enough and just stayed with my family club.
“I’ve had a couple of seasons off; I did play back in junior days at Dookie for a year then came back to my home club Tally. Then I’ve had a couple years off living away from Shepp and also with the birth of three children.
“It’s the Hosie name, it’s obviously quite strong (at Tallygaroopna).”
When thinking of family names uttered in the same breath as Tallygaroopna, Sidebottom would probably be the first to crop up.
But Hosie should at least be in the conversation.
Deanne’s oldest sister Fiona Down coaches Tallygaroopna’s A-grade and cousin Kelli Halden holds the club record for more than 600 games played.
Her other siblings Kim and Melissa have thrown on the navy and red more times than they can count ― well, almost.
Melissa will tick off 350 games for the Redlegs against Dookie as she suits up for B-grade duties, becoming the eighth highest appearance-maker for the netball club.
Whether she’s been on the court or taking a breather on the sidelines, ‘‘Miss’’ has been involved in more than 20,000 minutes of netball.
Twenty years spent in runners and a dress has produced three premierships and one club best-and-fairest to go along with a league award as well as coaching and committee participation.
However, a couple of fond memories do stick out.
“My favourite premiership would be my sister coaching, we had all four different seasons in the one year,” Melissa said.
“We had hail, rain everything ― I thought that was really good, a good year.
“I did win two best-and-fairests, one for the club and one for the league. I was surprised I even got invited.
“I was very speechless (when I won), and I was very proud of what had happened.”
Deanne, or ‘’Dee’’ as she’s known around the club, is also no stranger to success.
She has two premierships to her name, the latest of which came last season, while the other was enjoyed alongside Melissa in 2016, a genuine highlight of her career to date.
She admits she might have even caught up ground on her older sister if she hadn’t taken five years off with the birth of her children, a knee injury, work commitments and COVID-19 to boot, but is eyeing off a third flag this season nonetheless.
Tallygaroopna sits second on the C-grade ladder and is a real chance of going back-to-back thanks to an injection of youth.
Meanwhile, Melissa’s B-grade side is well within finals contention, currently sitting sixth with things “starting to connect” according to the soon-to-be 350-gamer.
Only time will tell whether she or Deanne will go on to add more flags to the cabinet or even break their cousin’s record at Tallygaroopna, but one thing is for sure ― the Hosies are there to stay.