Clarke said there was an enormous amount of respect between the clubs after playing off in grand finals from 2010-12 and that playing the undefeated Pigeons would make Saturday at W.J. Findlay Oval even more memorable.

“It’s actually quite good – there’s so much respect amongst the netballers,” she said.

“There are friendships forged and there’s always respect paid to anyone who’s having a milestone or playing some fantastic netball.

“It’s a really nice week to be in.”

While the Hawks life member has been on the wrong end of grand final results against the Pigeons, she did enjoy premiership success shortly after joining the Rovers from Benalla in 2004.

The Hawks beat Myrtleford and Wodonga to claim back-to-back flags in 2005-06 with Clarke and fellow Benalla recruit Stacey Emms playing starring roles.

“I’ve won two grand finals, been in another three and am a life member of the club, which I value as a really big accolade, to become a life member of such a prestigious club,” Clarke, who coached the Hawks’ A grade team from 2008-12, said.

“That’s something that will stay with me throughout my career but also when my career ends.

“It’s pretty exciting.

“It’s nice to be at one club for so long and to be able to get to this milestone.”

It’s a milestone which may never have happened after Clarke moved to Melbourne but, such is the goal attack’s commitment to the Hawks, she is happy to drive up the Hume Highway each weekend.

As if the almost-600km round trip isn’t a big enough effort, Clark backs it up to play in a Monday night A grade competition in Melbourne.

“Sometimes it can become a bit tiring but they’re a good group of young women that I play with and they’re people that I call my friends so it’s nice to be able to stay in contact with those people up there, regardless of the long trip on a Friday night,” she said.

“It’s worth it.

“It’s a tough game on the Saturday and it doesn’t get any easier on the Monday night down here, it’s a fairly tough comp.

“It’s just making sure I do my recovery right and as a more experienced player, I won’t say older, those things come into play a lot more.”

Clarke is confident the fifth-placed Hawks can bounce back from a 10-goal loss to Lavington and put in a strong showing against the ladder-leading Pigeons on Saturday.

“Obviously Yarrawonga is the team that everyone looks to in how they play,” she said.

“We saw how good Lavington are on the weekend as well but I think we have the team, the depth and the talent to really give it a red-hot go in this second round.

“We’ve got some depth there.”