Nirranda's Lisa Anders retires from A grade netball after flag

The 40-year-old defender called time after playing her part in Nirranda's second consecutive Warrnambool and District league flag on Saturday and walks away a three-time premiership player with the Blues (2018, '22 and '23).

She previously played with disbanded WDFNL clubs East Warrnambool and Deakin University Sharks after representing Caramut in the Mininera league.

Anders admitted she had mixed feelings about the decision.

"It's not like I'm never not going to play again but I'm never going to play at that level," she told The Standard.

"I think what made it easy was having Lisa (Arundell) as a coach and being able to finish a career underneath her plus where we finished, playing finals and playing a grand final."

The champion goal keeper, who has five children, intends to take a step back from netball and focus on her family and career.

There's no doubt she leaves a strong legacy at the Blues but the club also made an indelible mark on her.

She praised it for supporting her this year while away during the week with work commitments.

"I couldn't ask for a better bunch of girls or a better club to finish off a career of netball with," she said.

"They have been nothing but supportive of me and especially this year, not being as present as I'd liked to be. I'd only played six games and wasn't able to get to training because I'm in Melbourne during the week.

"They were very supportive of that and I'd even had a conversation with Lisa about half-way through the season about just quitting, just because of the commitment and me being away. And she wasn't taking that.

"She was like 'no we're going to finish your career the way you deserve'.

"So the club's been behind all the decisions I've made in terms of my personal life."

Anders can't speak highly enough of Arundell, who has coached two premierships at the Blues from as many seasons.

The decorated mentor, who led Old Collegians to a WDFNL flag in 2013 and also coached Terang Mortlake in the Hampden league, was the reason Anders returned to Nirranda before the 2022 season.

"There was a minute there where I thought about not coming back to Nirranda and when I found out Lisa was coaching it definitely drew me back there," she said.

"Because I'm always one for always wanting to be better and learn, no matter how old I am and I knew that she would be able to give that to me because I've seen how she conducts herself and how she pushes players to be better. I think that was what I was craving.

"When COVID hit I'd actually headed across to Terang Mortlake to play under her there. And then COVID happened and she came across to Nirranda and I was like 'I'll jump at any opportunity to play underneath her'."

Arundell more than repaid the faith, going the extra mile this season for her defender to prepare her for the finals series.

"A lot of people don't know this, before the grand final and before the preliminary final, Lisa actually drove to Melbourne and did a day trip up here and did one-on-one training sessions with me in preparation for the finals," she said.

"We did that on the Wednesday prior to the grand final and the Tuesday before that. She went out of her way, shut her shop, drove all the way to Melbourne, did one-on-one sessions with me. I think for me that's what I needed to be ready and prepared for playing finals."

Anders knows there's more to sport than winning but conceded it was nice to be successful.

"It took me a long time to get that first flag," she said.

"Netball for me it wasn't always winning and the goal wasn't always finals, it was just being able to play.

"But absolutely it's the icing on the cake (winning premierships) and when you get to do it with girls that I know are going to have my back moving forward regardless of whether I'm playing or not, is something extra special."

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