Historic occasion: Tatura's Molly Boyle says there is plenty of excitement at Tatura Park ahead of the club’s first A-grade finals appearance in 17 years.
For the first time in 17 years streamers of red, white and blue will be adorned around a Goulburn Valley League A-grade netball court in September.
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Tatura supporters are gearing up to watch their senior netball side for a historic elimination final clash against reigning premier Seymour.
One of those players who will be integral to the Bulldogs on Sunday at Rochester will be gun defender and captain Molly Boyle.
Her brilliant intercepting ability and rebounding prowess have helped the Bulldogs climb from 11th in 2022 to finishing fourth this year.
One of the more experienced players in the line-up, the former Tatura playing coach spoke about how important this weekend is to the Bulldog faithful.
“It’s really exciting for the whole club. It’s been a while, we’ve worked out that it’s been 17 years since A-grade last played finals,” Boyle said.
“Certainly in the time I’ve been there we’ve not played, we’ve been close, but everyone’s looking forward to getting out there.
“The biggest message has just been ‘let’s enjoy the week’. We’ve kept it similar to every other week and got the rest of the girls to keep training so we can keep the atmosphere running. It feels really special.”
Boyle may be suiting up for her first September appearance for Tatura, yet the skilful ring defender is no stranger to the big stage.
Her teenage years and early netball career were spent at Lake Wendouree ― a finals regular in Ballarat Football Netball League.
Key player: Molly Boyle has been a crucial component to Tatura’s 2023 season.
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Aydin Payne
Since landing at Tatura Park ahead of 2017, the finals action has dried up.
But Boyle wouldn’t change it for the world.
“When I joined, the club had just come off two years without winning a game,” she said.
“I missed last year while living in Darwin, but I feel like I’ve been on this journey and I know how much it means to so many people who put in so much work.
“People like Gaye (Eaton), Brooksy (Catherine Brooks) and Simon (Pogue) ... they do everything to make sure we can perform at our best. Gaye is such a fantastic mentor to me, especially when we coached together. Simon’s first year as netball co-ordinator was my first year coaching and he’s been unreal. We are very lucky to have all of them.”
Tight-knit group: Tatura's A-grade outfit has enjoyed a memorable 2023 campaign.
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Tatura has become Boyle’s second family.
Her teammates, the supporters and the volunteers who have been there through thick and thin over the past 17 years have become lifelong friends.
“Netball is the best part of the week,” Boyle said.
“All of us girls all get along and we enjoy spending time together away from the court as well. This year’s been really exciting and personally, really enjoyable.”
Seymour stands in the way of Tatura adding to its fairytale run this weekend.
The Lions will prove to be a tricky adversary first up, even if the Bulldogs prevailed by 29 goals in round 17.
“We will all be really looking forward to taking them on. We love Seymour as a club; we have a lot of respect for them and they are a team full of very successful and smart netballers,’’ she said.
“We played them not long ago, but it was a very different side with a few out. We know we’ll have to put together a strong four quarters to come away with the win.
“A few of us girls have finals experience, Molly (Kennedy) won a VNL title recently, Emma (Quinn) had success at Nathalia, Steph (Smith-Gorrie) at Bears ... it may just not have been here at Tat.
“Everyone can’t wait and I know there’s going to be a lot of support cheering us on.”
Sunday’s elimination final takes place at 2.15pm on Sunday at Rochester’s Moon Oval.
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