Mother and daughter share netball milestone for Golden Square

Mother and daughter Melinda and Maddy will mark an exceptional and sentimental milestone, when they coach and play their respective 150th games for the Bulldogs.

The 300 combined games have been achieved over 15 seasons (Melinda seven and Maddy eight) following their arrival at Wade Street together in 2012.

Melinda, who is the Bulldogs' 17-and-under coach and has also led the BFNL 17-and-under representative team for the past four seasons, becomes just the third coach in the club's history to reach 150 games.

She joins Deb Symes, now coaching at Maryborough, and current A-grade coach Kendyl Hopley, who went past 150 games earlier this season, adding another dimension to the milestone.

Melinda said it was the grand final coaching performance of a Bulldogs stalwart Kath Basilewsky in 2011 that convinced her Golden Square was the right club to take on a coaching role.

"I remember looking at that grand final and thinking I really like this coach," she said.

"I felt the moves she made in that game were match-winning and that really attracted me to the club.... well, apart from the fact we lived up the road from the club.

"That was a real coup in settling here."

Melinda's tenure at Wade Street has included stints at the helm of B-grade, B-reserve and currently 17-and-under, a team she has led with passion and distinction in four of the last five seasons.

The young Bulldogs currently sit second on the ladder behind Gisborne in a tight and wide-open race to the premiership.

Despite their many years together at the club, only once has Maddy featured in a team coached by her mother - in B-grade in 2014.

It was not planned. As Melinda explained: "That's just the way it landed, we thought Maddy was going to be in another grade."

Perhaps it was inevitable their paths would eventually cross on a journey that has seen Maddy progress from the 17-and-under team, coached by Kathryn Gilmore, in 2012, to an A-grade player in 2019.

Equally skilled in the midcourt and attack end, Maddy's speed, fitness and agility have proven a real asset in a rebuilding year for the Bulldogs.

The soon to be 23-year-old holds the reasonably rare distinction of having represented the Bulldogs at A-grade, A-reserve, B-grade, B-reserve and 17-and-under levels, and has twice played in grand finals.

She regards her rise to A-grade as one of the highlights of her time at Wade Street, alongside the chance to play each week alongside family and friends.

"It's been a great learning experience and great opportunity and also a lot of fun, despite not getting a win yet," she said.

"We have got a great group of girls, which adds to the experience.

"Retaining my spot next season is something I'll keep working hard at."

Both considered themselves privileged to get the opportunity to celebrate a milestone together for the club they hold so dear.

"It has been a wonderful home away from home for us," Melinda said.

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