Milestone match: Sahra Brooks played her 350th Rochester Football Netball Club match on Saturday. She shared the moment with husband Jason and daughter Izzy.
Photo by
Rohan Aldous
Sahra Brooks isn’t the type to puff her chest out and enjoy the extreme attention that comes from celebrating significant sporting milestones.
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But even she allowed herself to look a little further into the future as the inflated silver balloons fluttered behind her to mark her 350th game for Rochester Football Netball Club.
She didn’t think milestones mattered that much too her, however, speaking before taking the court against Shepparton she did say she liked the way 400 games sounded.
Brooks looks like finishing exactly where she started, 10-plus years after she first played as a 16-year-old school girl for the Tigerettes.
The mother of two said she was in “as good a shape’’ as she had ever been, an indication of that her contribution to a crushing 67-18 win for the third-ranked B-grade team on Saturday at Rochester Recreation Reseve.
“I reckon I can make 400,” Brooks said.
“If COVID didn’t happen I would have been there already. My body is in the best shape it’s ever been.
“After having kids it makes you want to work harder,” she said, although admitting the initial stages of Sunday mornings were not spent at top pace.
Brooks did admit Rochester netball legend, and games record holder, Christine Hooppell was well out of reach — having played 500 games for Rochester.
Brooks grew up in Rochester, attending the primary and high schools
She started in B-grade, which is where she is likely to end her career.
She may even have her greatest success alongside some of the faces who were there at the start of her journey.
“Four of the girls have been with me the whole time — Maddie Holt, Anna Oliver, Leah Cottam and Kristy Roulston,“ she said.
Brooks has never played in a premiership, but this season the experienced B-grade team is on track to challenge for a title.
“Between us all we have played over 1000 games. A few of our B-grade team are are over 40, then its me and the rest of the team are young,” she said.
“We are having a really good time, which is why I think we are winning,” she said.
Brooks is a GVL and Rochester life member, having played more than 200 games of A-grade netball — mostly at goal attack.
“The closest I got to a premiership was in 2013 with an A-grade team that made a preliminary,” she said.
“We have a good chance this year.”.
Brooks is a mother of two, her eldest daughter Willow was born in April 2013, allowing Brooks to coach and play late in the season for the B-reserve team.
Izzy was born in May 2016, which again allowed Brooks to return to netball mid-season.
Only Izzy and Brook’s husband, Jason, were at the milestone game as Willow was attending a birthday party.
“My parents (Debra and Les) are away in Queensland. They are here every week usually and have been at all the other milestone games,” she said.
Brooks’ grandparents, Margaret and Don Hedington, attend home games. They sit in the car at the back of the courts, along the fenceline, to watch her in action.
“Pop just had his 90th brithday,” Brooks said.
Brooks’ mother played just under 200 games at Rochester.
“Back then they used to make grand finals,” she said.
Brooks has a sister in the B-reserve team, Kristy Weekley, who is 13 months her junior.
During the week Brooks works as a designer with Rochester-based REM sheds, working with owners Paul and Lisa Evans.
She said she was much more excited about finals than the milestone.
As for the future, Rochester looks almost certain to have the next generation of Brooks netballers in its ranks for years to come.
“Izzy is in Net Set Go and Willow plays in the Rochy association,” she said.
Bigger fish to fry: Sahra Brooks has never played in a Goulburn Valley netball grand final, in any grade. This year’s B-grade team is on track to challenge for the premiership.
Photo by
Rohan Aldous
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