The popular club person becomes only the second Hawks netballer to achieve the feat, following on from Jacinta Kelly in 2011.

While the spotlight will fall on her playing career when the Hawks host Colbinabbin on Saturday, her on-court accomplishments tell only half the tale in regards to Matthews’ legacy and impact at Huntly.

As team-mates will attest, Mathews, who joined the Hawks in 1996, has been an ardent supporter of the club in many ways, both on and off the court.

“Mel doesn’t just turn up to play, but over the years is first there to set up in the morning and pack up at the end of the day, puts on her whites and umpires from D-primary through to A-grade, grabs her clip board and coaches, and has also taken on the roles of netball operations manager, umpire co-ordinator, and been part of both the club’s general committee and netball sub-committee, not to mention involved as a delegate on the HDNA committee,” a statement penned by her team-mates said.

While the club makes no secret of the fact it is lucky to have her, Matthews insists it is her who is the fortunate one.

“It’s the people and the community feel that keeps me there; I’ve made some terrific friends at Huntly, who I will call lifetime friends,” Matthews said in regards to her longevity.

“I just love being involved and I really love my netball.

“I’m umpiring now as well and all my kids (Jayden [under-17 football], Nikita [under-17 netball] and Harley [under-10 football and B-primary netball]) are all playing here now.”

Matthews, a mainstay in the Hawks’ A-reserve team for a lot of her seasons, said her introduction to the football netball club came when her parents Hank and Carmel Jansen took over the Huntly pub in 1995.

“In August 1995 we went into the pub and dad pretty much said you need to go to play netball at the footy club, you need to play pool and you need to play darts,” she said.

“And I’m still playing netball, I’m still playing pool, but I don’t play darts anymore. I wasn’t much good at darts.

“I was pretty much on the committee straight away and things have just grown from there.

“I’ve never left (the club) – even when I had my kids I was still there involved coaching or doing something.”

The highlights of her career at Huntly include premiership success with the A-reserve team in 1998 and B-grade team in 2008.

A premiership reunion for the 1998 team will be held on Saturday night.

There have also been plenty of individual accolades for Matthews, who was runner-up in the A-grade best and fairest in 2009, A-reserve best and fairest in 1998, 1999, 2010 and 2014 and runner-up in the 2010 A-reserve league best and fairest.

She was awarded the most valuable player award in the winning 2008 grand final and in 2013 was honoured with club life membership.

She was a key member of the committee which helped secure funding in 2011 for the reconstruction of the Hawks’ courts.

Encouragingly for the club, Matthews, who has made a handful of appearances for the Hawks’ A-grade team this season, said she was nowhere near ready to give the game away.

“I’m still hoping to play for a few more years; I feel like I’m fit and have a few more grades to go back into,” she said.

“It depends on injuries I suppose – my last three years have been my worse (with injuries).

“I’ve probably been pretty lucky not to have too many injuries up until the last few years.

“Either way I will still be at Huntly.

“My 10-year-old (Harley) already talks up about playing his 300th game for Huntly, which is sweet.

“The kids all love the club too.”

On Saturday, Melissa Matthews steps onto the court to play her 300th game of netball with the Huntly Football Netball Club. Since first stepping onto the court in 1996, week by week and year by year, Mel continues to support the club in many ways both on and off the court. Mel doesn’t just turn up to play but over the years is first there to set up in the morning and pack up at the end of the day, puts on her whites and umpires from D-primary through to A-grade, grabs her clip board and coaches, and has also taken on the roles of netball operations manager, umpire co-ordinator, and been part of both the club’s general committee and netball sub-committee, not to mention involved as a delegate on the HDNA committee. 

Each week that Mel takes the court you know that 110 per cent will be given to achieve the best results for her coach and her team mates. She is a versatile player being able to play all positions on the court but most notable are her defensive skills.  Mel is a tough opponent and loves a good leap and intercept as she sneaks up on her attackers and rebounds missed goals with strength and determination.  She’s also one of the first to have a beer with you after the game. Mel has played under a number of coaches including but not limited to Rae Baker, Janelle Hobbs, Mandy Grinton, Martin Baird, Robyn Cunnington, Leanne Clohesy, Vicky Tierney, Megan Hillier, Jody Warfe, Jenny Brain and currently Emily Eliades.  Mel has been able to support not only the players directly in her team but all players of all grades with the knowledge and skills that she has learnt along the way.

You don’t get to 300 games without a few achievements along the way and Mel certainly has a few of those, both individually and with her team.  Mel has played in a number of grand finals and was part of the 1998 A-reserve premiership team and 2008 B-grade premiership side along with being awarded the Most Valuable Player by the umpires. Individually Mel has received A-grade runners-up best and fairest 2009, A-reserve best and fairest in 1998, 1999, 2010 and 2014 and in 2010 was also runner-up in the HDNA A Reserve Best and Fairest.

In 2013 Mel was awarded a Huntly life membership as a result of her years of service and games played honoring Mel’s dedication to the club. Mel was also part of the team of people that were successful in being granted the funding for the construction of our new courts in 2011. Mel is always keeping her eye out and applying for grants to better our netball facilities.

Mel has coached a number of different grades over the years; A-reserve in 2005, B-grade in 2000, 2011, 2017, under-17’s 2017 and also our D-primary.

 Through her time Mel’s enthusiasm and hard playing style have resulted in a few injuries; she has had calf aggravations, fractured her fibula in 2015 during the pre-season ruptured her ACL in 2016 which saw her miss the 2017 season as a player but freed her up to coach.

 Mel has three beautiful children that support her alongside her husband Jason and extended family. Mel has been pregnant four times since being at the club that has seen her miss some games, but only the least amount possible. She had her eldest son Jayden in 2002 where she stopped playing half way through 2001, in 2003 she was sidelined for the entire season pregnant with Nikita and in 2008 she waited until the end of the A-reserve grand final to tell her team mates (after they lost) the exciting news that they were expecting again with Harley.  In 2012 Mel and her family made the selfless decision to be a surrogate for her brother-in-law’s wife, to fulfill their dreams of becoming parents and gave birth to her nephew Nicholas in October 2012. This really sums up the type of person Mel is and what makes her a great club person.

We thank Mel for all the time she devotes to the Huntly Football Netball Club and we wish her all the best as she takes the court to play her 300th game today.

Congratulations Mel.