Sitting on the sidelines and watching her South Rovers teammates on court has been something of a custom in recent years for Meg Downie.
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The 23-year-old is in the infancy of her netball career but has endured more setbacks with her body than most.
Downie, who works in Warrnambool as a disability support worker, has recovered from three knee reconstructions across her junior and senior career, all suffered while playing netball.
But after a successful return to the club's A reserve team last year, coming sixth in the league best and fairest, the goal attack has only this year returned to the Lions' A grade team under first-year mentor Niketa Finck.
She said she was enjoying immersing herself back into the sport, playing a key role with 37 goals in the A grade team's first win of the season on May 25, 2024, snapping a 379-day streak.
"I did my third ACL back in 2018 and then didn't play netball again until last year, so I've had a fair bit of time off netball," she said.
"I got a bit sick of sitting on the sidelines but I'm enjoying playing again.
"I've got myself a lot fitter now, I pretty much go to the gym every day and I'm right into my running so the fitness side has been good for me, but it's been about getting the ball skill side of it right again.
"It's those quick agility movements and you certainly notice the different pace compared to A res, but I feel like I'm getting there. I can run out the games pretty well, it's just about getting the skills right and shooting goals."
Downie, who has played a mixture of attack and mid-court this season, said her teammates had worked extremely hard to get the win.
"It was a bit of a relief and it was great to see our efforts start to pay off," she said.
"You do start to lose a bit of motivation as you get into the winter, it gets really cold (in Warrnambool) and to get a win on the board it makes you want to keep trying and showing up."
Making the win all the more special was Meg played her first A grade game with older sisters Emma and Grace.
She said it was "hectic" in the lead-up to the game after the Lions were forced to scramble to field a team after four late outs to the A grade side.
"When we found out we were all playing together, we had four players kind of come out last minute, so it was all a bit hectic," she said with a laugh.
"But it was super exciting and at least if we didn't win, we could just go out there and have fun playing together.
"It was good to play with them and get that win."
Nick Creely
Sports reporter with The Standard
Sports reporter with The Standard
