NICOLE Dwyer is using a former teammate’s longevity as inspiration as she strives to play at Hampden league’s top level for as long as possible.
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The Port Fairy netballer is 40 – more than a decade younger than ex-Seagull and current Portland midcourter Kerri Jennings.
Dwyer, who will celebrate her 350th senior game on Saturday, said Jennings’ effort was uplifting.
“I know Kerri well – we played together at Port Fairy in 1998, my first year (at the club),” Dwyer said.
“I would love to be in the same position Kerri is but I just take every game as it comes.
“I love netball. Everyone thinks I am a little obsessed with netball and maybe I am.”
Dwyer, who along with footballer Kevin Leske is the only person to play 300-plus games for the Seagulls, is eager to break down the age barrier.
The former Seagulls coach and 2016 premiership player believes her involvement with the Port Fairy Surf Life Saving Club each summer is the ideal pre-season, allowing her to build her fitness without putting pressure on her joints.
“I attend all pre-season (netball) training too and throw myself in the mix like any other person trying out would,” she said.
“I don’t expect any favours.”
Mother-of-two Dwyer, whose children Lexie, 8, and Bronte, 3, attend games each week, said her family had strong ties to its respective sporting clubs.
Her father Anthony Bourke played 608 football games for the now-defunct South West District club Bessiebelle.
Her husband Dean is a 250-game player and current runner at Port Fairy.
“I was brought up at the football and at the netball courts, so it’s part of my routine from April to September,” Dwyer said.
“Playing rain, hail or shine, it doesn’t worry me in the slightest.
“It’s a good place to be, a football netball club, because you learn a lot of life skills. It’s a big extended family. If a town provides me with somewhere to live, work and a sense of community, I feel like I owe it to the Port Fairy club to give something back.”