"IF YOU think of Calivil United, you think of Kellie Anset."
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So says her Demons teammate and long-time friend Georgie Ralphs.
You would be hard pressed to find a Loddon Valley Football-Netball League follower to disagree.
When Anset takes to the court for her beloved Demons in Saturday's B-grade second semi-final at Calivil against Bridgewater, she'll be playing her 400th senior grade game.
In a remarkable feat of longevity, Anset has not missed playing at least one game each season in the past 28 years.
Not when she moved to Melbourne for five years in the 1990s to study veterinary science, nor when a broken arm restricted her to 12 A-grade games in 1998, or when she gave birth to her daughter Imogen in 2005.
She's tallied 450 games in total, arriving at Calivil in 1989 after spending two years in the minis at Serpentine.
A minis premiership in '89 was followed by back-to-back flags in juniors and consecutive B-grade premierships in '92 and '93.
Anset has played in eight premierships in total, her last in B-grade in 2010. She has also won eight club best and fairest awards, including dual A-grade trophies in '99 and 2000.
Her A-grade career spanned eight seasons (1998-2005).
Anset described Calivil United as a club you always looked forward to coming back to and one where newcomers were instantly welcomed.
"It's just so inviting - everyone who comes feels welcome right from the start," she said.
"I spent five years in Melbourne doing my vet degree, but I came back every weekend and played netball.
"It was my escape from study and a chance to get back to the country and netball.
"Because it's such a family club you would come back on the weekend and catch up with family and friends.
"We have Erin Boyd (Freemantle) who has been doing the same thing for seven years."
In between playing commitments, Anset has been a coach, long-time committee member and currently serves as the Demons' netball operations manager.
It's hard to think she juggles all that with the 24/7 demands of being a veterinarian and part-owner of the Long Gully-based Passionate Vetcare.
Anset nominated Coral Maxsted - her juniors coach for two seasons - as the one who had most influenced her career.
"She coached the juniors when they were runners-up four straight years, but finally got a premiership when it was our year in 1990, she said.
"That's something that has always stood out.
"Coral as a coach pushed us really hard and just made sure we had the right skills right from the start."
Anset considers herself fortunate to have been able to play alongside her sister Jeannie Wagner for much of her career.
(Calivil United) is just so inviting - everyone who comes feels welcome right from the start.
- Kellie Anset
She considers the 2009-10 flags, when she won back-to-back league best and fairest awards - as arguably her fondest.
"It was a really fantastic bunch of girls, who were team players and just gelled really well together," Anset said.
"The friendships that were made over those years of doing well are now lifelong friendships."
Anset is debating whether to call an end to her playing career this season - a premiership looms as a likely deal clincher.
But there are no plans to sever her other ties with the club she has called home for nearly three decades.
"I have to have a shoulder surgery over the summer, so it will depend on how I pull up after that whether I keep going on," she said.
"But as far as the club goes, because my daughter is there now in the minis, I can picture myself being there for another 20 years in some capacity.
"I can't imagine going anywhere else."