Tracey Brereton steps down at Shepparton after 16 years to pursue Victorian Netball League venture

Brereton spoke highly about her time at the Bears, looking back on the legacy she has created.

“Number one, I’m really blessed to be able to stay at the club for that long,” she said.

“But number two, I think what I’m more proud of is probably the journey over the 16 years.

“At that club, I’ve built a strong netball club that people want to come to because of the coaching — and that’s not just me, that’s also Jacinta Todd and Stacey Thompson.

“I think about when I started 16 years ago, so many new things have been implemented.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve built there and what sort of club we come across as to the outside looking in.”

Brereton’s resume at Shepparton speaks for itself; she leaves as one of the finest coaches the Goulburn Valley League has seen in the modern era.

Despite premiership success evading Brereton during her time at the helm, the sheer presence of the Bears as a finals regular is one of her proudest achievements among those 16 years.

“In terms of A-grade, no, we never got that premiership,” she said.

“But over the 16 years I was there, I only missed out on finals once by percentage.

“Otherwise, it was finals every single year and once we got that going, every team was getting to finals every year. And that’s what we tried to build, a powerhouse club.”

Her next challenge is converting a brand-new franchise into a powerhouse.

With a facelift of the VNL model coming into effect as of next season, Bendigo successfully attained a licence and quickly acquired Brereton’s services as coach of the championship side.

“In terms of what the goal is, number one we want to establish ourselves as a new franchise,” she said.

“That’s not an easy job, is it? That comes along with teething issues and bits and pieces, setting up a good structure and putting good coaches in place, then getting some good players.

“Then we just start to build our brand and culture from there. Hopefully it’s something that can help us achieve some really good results this year in under-23s and championship (divisions).”

Being the face of a regional outfit was another reason — a no-brainer — behind Numurkah-born Brereton taking the job.

She has blazed a trail for what country athletes can achieve, playing at the national level before going on to interleague, academy and state coaching roles.

“Being a country athlete and a country coach myself, I understand the barriers and just how hard it is for country people to have access to VNL and high-performance programs like this,” she said.

“Instead of them having to drive two-and-a-half, three hours to go to Melbourne to train and then play, it’s now accessible in their area.”

The ball is still to roll on the Strikers regarding a playing squad.

Trials are being held over the next few weeks, with Brereton hoping to tap into the deep talent pool in regions like ours.

“Anywhere from GV League across to the Echuca area and Bendigo, I think we can capture enough talent to start a really good core,” she said.

“I guess we’re in a touch of a disadvantage compared to some other VNL clubs because they’ve already got a player base where we don’t.

“We’re purely coming from scratch, but that’s exciting, it offers fresh and new opportunities for a lot more players.”