It was the first year after Kolora and Noorat amalgamated to form the Power.

We were under the radar for the whole season. We just scraped into the finals.

We had nothing to lose when we played Old Collegians in the grand final. Alison Kenna was the playing coach.

The funny thing about our grand final victory was Old Collegians beat us by more than 40 goals in round 3.

The headline in The Standard on the Monday morning after that game said something like “Lesson in netball.”

Alison used that headline as a real spur when we played in the grand final. I think we won the grand final by a couple of goals.

Do the women who played in the 2003 grand final victory stay in contact?

We had a reunion a few years ago which was great, but we have not caught up for years.

The 2003 premiership win always comes up in conversation when I see any of the other players.

Alison and I are the only players from that side that are still playing.

Where did your netball career begin?

I think I would have been about eight or nine years old when I started playing in lightning premierships for Terang at places like Camperdown, Cobden and Terang.

Our parents encouraged us  to play sport. They both played a lot of sport.

The first sport I got involved in was swimming. We lived one block away from the Terang swimming pool. After I learnt how to swim, I started swimming four mornings in the week and started competing in various competitions.

The competitions were mainly at local pools, but I did compete in events in Melbourne and I can still remember going up to Mildura to compete.

I never won any significant swimming trophies. My swimming career came to a halt as a lot of my girlfriends were playing netball at Terang so I got involved in netball again.

I had played under 15 netball at Terang and then played senior netball including A Grade for Terang before going out to play with Noorat in 2000.

Why did you go out to play netball with Noorat?

I had a few friends playing out there. I suppose I wanted a change of scenery.

I played with Noorat when they won the A Grade premiership in the old Heysterbury League. 

I’ve mentioned that I played in the inaugural premiership with the Power in 2003. I stayed out there for 2004 before coming back to play with Terang in 2005 and 2006. I went back out to the Power on 2007 and been there ever since.

On a personal note, I became the first person at the Power to play 150 games last season.

I'm humbled that the club gave me the opportunity to have played so many games.

How are things progressing on the netball courts for Kolora-Noorat this season in your role as coach?

We finished fourth last season and with a bit of luck we might have gone a bit further into the finals.

Dennington beat us on Saturday. We've been going all right.

We've got a good balance of young and older players. The older players have the ability to keep everything balanced.

What do you think of the netball competition in the WDFNL?

It's a very competitive competition. There's a lot of players that have had experience playing in the HFNL that have come over to the WDFNL.

The influx of HFNL players has made the WDFNL stronger. I think the competition will go from strength to strength.

We as a club struggled for numbers last season because a lot of our younger players went away to university and never had time to play because of work commitments. The club has three senior sides and three junior sides this season.

It's been well documented that the Power has a strong following. How has that happened?

The Power is no different to any other club that is in a small country community.

The footy and netball club is the hub of the local community. It's a wonderful social outing for everyone.

Thursday is a big night for the club and the locals. More than 200 people turn up for tea on a Thursday night. 

Children are running around everywhere. Kolora-Noorat is a real family orientated club.

My husband Matt is the president of the club. As a family we spend a lot of time at various footy and netball functions.

But we're both comfortable with the commitments because the club offers so much for people young and old.

Are your children showing any interest in sport?

Yes. Our children love being involved in the club whether that be game day or for training.

Lara played in a scratch netball game against Old Collegians for children aged from nine to 11 last week. Lara just loved wearing the Power colours.

I think it's wonderful for children of all ages to be involved in the footy and netball.

Away from the Power, have you been involved in any other sport?

I can still remember playing basketball out at the old butter factory at Noorat as a youngster.

I've always been mindful of looking after my health and fitness, so has Matt.

I've run in a lot of half-marathons, from the Great Ocean Road in 2015, to Melbourne in October 2014, to the Gold Coast and fun runs all over the place.

I'm toying with the idea of running in the Melbourne marathon in October. Matt has competed in ironman and triathlons competitions.

We feel we're setting a great example for our children to look after themselves as they grow up.