The departure of star goal shooter Annie Blackburn has been offset with the return to the club of her sister Laura.

Annie is moving to Geelong where she will begin her university studies and play with Leopold in the Geelong Football Netball League.

Laura, 23, said she was looking forward to returning to netball after not playing in 2015 due to work and study commitments.

“I had an eight-week work placement in Melbourne and I just needed a break from netball so I decided to have the year off,” she said.

“I am excited about playing again, it will be great to play with Elisha Carter, who I played with when I was younger. The last time I played I was one of the older girls, so having Elisha there as a leader eases the pressure.”

The Blackburn sisters teamed in the goal ring in 2013 when the Eagles won their first Hampden league A grade premiership with an upset win over Koroit.

Annie, 19, was then a key player in the Eagles’ 2015 grand final win over Camperdown. The memories of being part of the Eagles’ inaugural premiership remain strong for Laura, who was not only a star contributor at goal shooter but was also the team captain.

“We just scraped into the finals and from there we hit our straps and played our best netball,” Laura said.

“It was an amazing experience, everyone had played juniors at the club so that made it even more special.” 

The Eagles started back training on Monday night with coach Jody Roth happy with the roll-up.

“We have had a big break and the girls really deserved that,” Roth said.

“We had some new faces on Monday, we are cruising at the moment. Annie was so pivotal to our team, we will miss her but she knows there is always a place for her when she wants to come back. It’s exciting to have Laura back, I am looking forward to working with her.”