Leisa Barry hits 200 games with eyes ahead on bigger prize for Eagles

In the next few weeks, she hopes to be able to add a bit more of each to her decorated playing resume.

The midcourt ace will tick the first part of the equation off when she plays her 200th game for the LVFNL's Eagles against Bears Lagoon-Serpentine on Saturday.

Barry is viewing the clash at Serpentine as the next step to a potential premiership, which would be the fifth at the club she holds so close to her heart.

In an increasingly open season, the Eagles, to a degree, have set themselves apart at the top of the league ladder with a 12-1 record.

They sit eight points clear of nearest rival Mitiamo going into the final round of the home and away season, with a week off in the first week of finals already guaranteed.

While personally thrilled, if not a little humbled by her 200th milestone, Barry has her sights firmly focused on the bigger prize.

"I have got my eyes more on the possibility of a premiership to be honest," the 40-year-old said.

"I'm not too fussed about the personal stuff, but it is nice to get there and get it done.

"I probably would have got it done a couple of years ago had COVID not hit, but it's here now."

Barry, a two-time league A-grade medallist and four-time club best and fairest, has been a valued club person and an important cog off and on the court since her arrival at what was then known as YCW in 2008.

She started her career at Sandhurst as a 16-year-old on the advisement of her former PE teacher Carol Cathcart, playing two years of B-grade and one of A-grade.

She later spent one year at Golden Square, playing in a preliminary final, before making her way out to the Loddon Valley and Marong, where her brothers played football.

Then came the move that has wrought so much joy and success.

"A change and Nic Donnellon were the reasons I came to YCW," Barry said this week.

"We formed a friendship and I hated playing against her, so I thought I'd love to play with her.

"Easily one of the most talented netballers I have ever gotten to play with. Her netball brain is like no other."

It certainly helps to have played in four premierships, but Barry has relished every moment at Maiden Gully YCW.

"I have made some great friendships here, now it's just really great watching both my girls coming through and playing," she said.

"My eldest Paige has played all her juniors here and now plays in the senior netball and my youngest one Maddi is now in her second year of playing minis netball.

"It's really nice to have the family around."

While the Eagles have set themselves up nicely for a tilt at a first premiership since 2013, Barry found it difficult to draw comparisons between past and present Eagles line-ups.

"It's been a while since we had a team at this level, she said in reference to the club not having played in an A-grade grand final since 2014.

"We have a very even side. With Tia (Webb) down one end and Rachael (Gray) up the other, we've got height at either end. And there's a lot of talent and a lot of young girls coming through.

"It is hard to compare, but we've always been pretty lucky to have good goal shooters like Cara Bastian and now Tia Webb.

"I feel we have every position covered this year and, with our B-grade, if we had someone in A-grade get injured, we'd have someone ready to step onto the court.

"There's a fair bit of depth this year, but I think on any given day this year, any of the top five sides could win it."

Barry, who has bounced back from a serious back injury last year to produce another brilliant season, is hoping for a special gift of sorts to mark her 200th - the opportunity to play alongside her eldest daughter Paige, if only for a quarter.

"She plays C-grade, but I'm hoping she will be put on the court in A-grade on Saturday and we get a quarter together," she said.

"I have always wanted to play a game with her, so that's my plan."

The chances appear likely, with the Bears rescheduling the C-grade contest - normally played at the same time as A-grade - to an earlier time slot to accommodate such a plan.

It would be a fitting reward for her stellar contribution to the club and league and for a player universally rated by opposition players and coaches as still among the league's elite.

Barry's A-grade coach and long-time team-mate Christie Griffiths lauded her as not only a star on the court, but an amazing role model for young netballers at Maiden Gully YCW and beyond.

"As a person, she hasn't got a bad word about anyone and everyone just loves her," she said.

"Leisa certainly has a lot of friends here and is respected by everyone.

"She is just a superstar.

"I don't think she ever has a bad week out there on the court and her commitment to the club is just exceptional.

"She coaches, she umpires when she probably doesn't want, and she is always putting her hand up to help.

"I know she is forever helping behind the scenes, which I really appreciate.

"It's fantastic she has made it this far with us; with her injury last year, I don't know if she thought she was going to come back and play.

"I'm rapt for her that's she is able to play her 200th and hopefully we see quite a few more games in her and a few with Paige and maybe Maddi one day.

"She is unstoppable out there on the court and certainly not slowing down, so she's definitely got plenty more years left in her."

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