Lindy Burgess-Singleton reflects on netball career, health and fitness

But after hearing that the league was to introduce a netball competition in 1993, distance wasn't going to be a barrier for the Myrtleford star.

"I drove up and down that highway every weekend for 15 years," Burgess-Singleton said.

"I moved to Melbourne when I was 23 because my partner at the time was drafted to Essendon.

"Some of the wives at Essendon had got me into playing domestic netball and from there I was asked to try for state league teams.

"I started playing at the highest level at that time, and then in 1993 when the Ovens and Murray introduced netball, Sandra Piazza from Myrtleford contacted me to see if I'd come home and help set up an A-grade team.

"We grew up around the Ovens and Murray Football League, so that was like my second family.

"My dad (Terry Senior) had played, coached and been president, and mum (Virginia) helped out on the committee.

"To introduce the netball component was like the icing on the cake and I wanted to be a part of that."

While starting to help pave the way for homegrown netballers, she was also continuing to build her netball career in Melbourne, playing for the likes of North Melbourne and City West Falcons.

"They then brought in the National League and I couldn't break into the Melbourne team, so we moved to Perth to try there," she said.

"I did four months at the Institute of Sport and did well with the fitness and testing, but at the end of the day they went for height, and I'm a bit challenged in that area.

"I didn't quite make the cut, but it was a great learning curve for me and it helped with my coaching.

"It made me look at the teams I coached with a bit of a wider scope and not always go for height.

"I think sometimes speed and agility can be just as handy."

She admitted coaching hadn't really been on her radar when she was first approached by the Saints, but it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"I was still in my prime as a player when Sandra had asked me," she said.

"I was a late starter, I was 25 when I started playing state league and I already had two children.

"Most people are playing state league at 18 or 19."

Winning two premierships with the Saints, Burgess-Singleton also coached Wodonga Raiders and Bulldogs, before receiving a call from Corowa-Rutherglen.

"I thought I had finished with coaching and then Sandra Dunn rang me," she said.

"They didn't have an A-grade team and that just broke my heart.

"I loved my time at all of the clubs, but Corowa was different because it was like we were resurrecting them.

"We were putting things in the paper and on noticeboards at the TAFE to try and get people to come and play at the club.

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"Now Cathy and Ruby Svarc, who I convinced to come play with us, have gone on to play AFLW.

"It's awesome to see those girls excelling in footy."

The determined and talented midcourt player was awarded three Toni Wilson Medals in 1993, 1995 and 1996, as well as a B-grade league best and fairest award in 2010.

"In 1994 I went to Bulldogs because my partner at the time was there, and that year I did my knee and needed a reconstruction half-way through the year," she said.

"I did it playing State League in Melbourne, but I still came back and coached.

"I came third that year in the league, even though I only played half a season."

The Saints' 1995 and 1997 flags remain some of her greatest netball achievements.

"Because we're such a small country town and were always the underdogs, it made it even more special," she said.

But her biggest accolade came in 2015 when she was recognised as the first netballer in the Ovens and Murray Hall of Fame.

"When they rang me I burst into tears," she said.

"It was unheard of and I didn't even know the committee was talking about inducting a female.

"That was such a huge honour."

It made all of those trips in the car worth it.

"Not once did I ever think it was hard work getting up and driving every morning," she said.

"My two older children (Ricky and Sarah) would jump in the car and we'd play our car games on the way."

The mum of three has now ridden the waves of her kids' sporting careers, with 21-year-old daughter Tori claiming a silver medal for acrobatics at the World Cup.

"We've travelled the world with her," she said.

"She started acrobatics when she was eight, and a bit like me, she found her passion.

"She had to choose between netball and gymnastics in the end, and to her credit, she found her niche."

Burgess-Singleton is set to return to Myrtleford this weekend for the club's 1970 premiership reunion, which her father Terry played in.

She now has four grandkids, Tayah, 13, Kai, 11, Sage, 8 and Lync, 7.

While she enjoys travelling with her partner Garry, who she met at the 2010 AFL Grand Final, health and fitness remains a major part of her life.

Meditation, workouts, yoga, hot pilates and walking her dogs make up her weeks.

"It's just a lifestyle for me," she said.

"I think getting back to your personal health and happiness is really important.

"It's about putting yourself first so that you can find happiness from within.

"When you're happy with you it radiates to everyone you meet and you handle situations and your emotions better."

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