And it’s part of the reason she has returned to the club to take on the A-grade coaching role for 2021.
Hardess returns to the club having spent the last few years in Melbourne, where she played for clubs including Eltham and South Yarra.
Those chances came about after strong performances in the Heathcote District Netball League.
When she did first leave the club, Hardess had a best and fairest, several interleague selections and a competition rising star award to her name.
But she is now ready to give back.
“I’m really looking forward to what’s ahead,” Hardess said.
“Everyone just wants to get back out on the court after missing out on an entire season in 2020.
“Fortunately for me I was hoping to take a break anyway because last year was my first year as a teacher.
“But now I’m ready to play again. Working at Echuca College has worked out really well for me because it means I don’t have to travel too far to get back to my home club.
“I can’t wait to get stuck into things.”
In 2019, the Cats finished on the bottom of the ladder, winning just one game for the season.
And while Hardess wants to see results improve, she is more determined on building a strong culture within the playing group.
“My first goal is to start building everything back up,” she said.
“It’s never easy missing out on an entire season so there is definitely going to be an adjustment period once we do return to training.
“I want the girls to be enjoying their netball and have them looking forward to training during the week and games on a Saturday.
“That was something I always loved about the club when I was growing up and I want everyone to feel the same way.”
New club president Andrew Cochrane said he was thrilled to see Hardess return to the Cats.
“As a club you always want to see familiar faces come back,” he said.
“We’ve managed to do that with some of our footy recruits in the past couple of years and it’s good to see the netball doing it as well.
“Jess was an extremely talented junior player and she will add a lot to our playing group.
“We’re all looking forward to what lies ahead in the coming months.”
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