In many ways, this was the case for Rebecca Cameron.

Flashback to 1995 and 16-year-old Cameron was taking to the basketball court for the Wodonga Wolves.

After also playing a handful of netball games for Wodonga throughout the season, Cameron was faced with a choice- netball or basketball.

"I had a good think about it and decided at that point that I was going to play basketball," she said.

"I did a preseason with Wolves and then a week out from the start of the season our basketball coach pulled the pin on us.

"Everything was up in the air and I'd come home to mum and say I've made a mistake and I wished I was playing netball.

"She told me to ring the coach and she said she would take me, but couldn't guarantee me a spot in A-grade.

"I played my first game in B-grade and loved it.

"I went to training the next week and was told I was being elevated to A-grade, and that's where I stayed until the day I retired."

After 352 games, two premierships, a Toni Wilson Medal, nine best and fairest awards, league and club life memberships and Hall of Fame status, it's a twist of fate the O and M stalwart is thankful for.

While her highlight reel is extensive, the 2002 season remains a standout.

"That was one of the most special premierships because it was the first grand final any team in Wodonga had been in," she said.

"There was a lot of hype and excitement around the club.

"We played Yarrawonga, who had beaten us throughout the year.

"We were massive underdogs and no one expected us to win.

"My sister Kelli was coaching and she had us in a really good mindset. We managed to win by two goals in the end.

"I'll never forget that day and the excitement."

But her successful career didn't come without some heartache along the way.

The Bulldogs' 2004 flag was just that.

"I didn't get to play in the grand final because I ruptured my ACL halfway through the season," she said.

"I was playing interleague in Melbourne when it happened, so it was bittersweet for me because I knew exactly what I was going to be missing out on.

"I consider 2004 to be the strongest team we've had. We had girls on the bench that were just as good as the ones on the court.

"I was very unlucky, but I realised pretty quickly that I just had to do what I could to help.

"Kelli was a playing coach, so I was the eyes on the sidelines that could do the stats and help out at training.

"Although it was devastating for me, I was just rapt that they were able to win against Myrtleford."

Her next premiership came in 2015.

But this time around the lead up was different, as Cameron took to the court with a secret.

"Halfway through that season I decided I was going to retire," she said.

"All I wanted to do was just win one more grand final, but I didn't tell anyone.

"I had a lot of emotion heading into that game."

But things soon started to unravel for the Bulldogs, as they were dealt their first blow.

"Unfortunately we'd lost our coach in the warm up that day," she said.

"A few weeks earlier Liona Edwards had hurt her knee, but was planning to play a quarter or two. Then she did her knee good and proper in the warm up.

"We had young Steph Gorman step up, and the positive of that was that Yarrawonga hadn't seen her play before.

"She was the type of kid that didn't get nervous and just loved the big stage."

Then came the second blow.

"Things were going well and then 10 minutes into the first quarter I ended up tearing my plantar fascia, which I didn't know at the time," she said.

"I remember coming off and calling injury time before I quickly realised that no amount of tape or painkilers was going to do anything.

"I came off at quarter time thinking they'll tell me to come off, but I stayed on.

"I pretty quickly had to change my game plan because the player I was on, Kylie Leslie, I considered to be my toughest opponent.

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"I just hobbled around the court and did what I could.

"We won by one goal in the end.

"Our centre Anna Avery and defender Bek Ohlin both had some injuries, so we were like the walking wounded.

"It was just amazing that we were able to hang on and win.

"Normally you feel excitement, but for me it was just pure relief that we had won.

"I could retire happy."

However, her time away from the netball court was short lived.

In 2017 she joined her husband Leigh at Tallangatta and District league club Kiewa-Sandy Creek.

"Abbey O'Brien used to call me every year and ask when I was coming out," she said.

"When my dad (Ray Smedley) left Wodonga, he went out to Kiewa to play and coach, so it was nice to follow in his footsteps."

If you ask Cameron, she'll tell you she was always supposed to play at Wodonga.

"It was probably just inevitable me playing at the club," she said.

"My two sisters (Kelli and Leisa) were playing here, my dad played almost 200 games at the club and was chairman of selectors, and my mum (Marlene) always supported the club, along with my uncles and grandparents.

"As a family, we were Bulldogs through and through.

"It was only a matter of time before I started playing."

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