The story behind 'Jindera Bulldogs Legends Shed' and the names inside it

The 96-year-old helped establish the club's first netball team in 1949 after leaving Walla.

She went on to play over 300 games and has since become both a club and Hume Netball Association life member for her dedication to the game.

As she recalls how it all began, there's also another influential character in this story- her late husband Ted.

"My late husband and I were playing tennis one day and this chap came up from the football club and asked us if Ted would like to play footy for Jindera," Mary recalled.

"I said no, over my dead body.

"He was playing at Walla and I was playing netball there as well, but it was called basketball back then.

"I said I wasn't going to sit down here and watch him play football and give my basketball away.

"Jokingly, I said if they had enough girls to play in a team, we might think about it.

"Later on he said he had enough girls, we had seven.

"Some of them had never held a ball in their life and I had to try and teach them the rules.

"We had to play A-grade, would you believe?

"The first match, I had to play against my old home team Walla and we were slaughtered.

"That's how it started, with Ted being conned into playing football at Jindera."

History is at the heart of every club, but for Sheila Klein, Sharon Riley, and her daughters Aimee and Hayley, netball and family have been intertwined at Jindera for four generations.

During the early stages of the club's netball inception, alongside Mary was founding treasurer Edna Funk.

Edna, the mother of Sheila, paved the way for her and her granddaughter Sharon, with her great-granddaughters Aimee and Hayley now playing their part for the future of the Bulldogs.

Inspired by the women before her, Aimee, alongside Jindera's committee, found a way to recognise and celebrate the women who have helped shape the club.

The 'Jindera Bulldogs Legends Shed' currently has five names plastered to the wall, with each playing over 300 games.

Mary is suitably the first, followed by Sheila, Sharon, Paula Carr and Judy Karakai.

Sheila has been around the club for as long as she can remember, but there's one season in particular that stands out from the rest.

She recalls having all four of her daughters Sharon, Mandy, Kylie and Marcia out on court.

"I was lucky enough in my second last year that my youngest daughter went into the senior grades, so we had a season or two where we all played in the senior teams," she said.

While she had a job to do on court, she also took on roles off court.

"You go back to the early days when we just had gravel courts and you had to roll them and resurface them every couple of years," Sheila said.

"You had to line them every week and there was always grass growing on them.

"It was hard work getting the courts ready in those days."

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Sharon has surpassed an incredible 500 games with the Bulldogs, and is still going.

She lined-up in C-reserves this season alongside her daughter Hayley.

Reflecting on her ties to the club, Sharon wouldn't have it any other way.

"Most of my fondest memories growing up are around the footy field," she said.

"My grandparents (Edna and Ted) are life members of the footy club and they ran the canteen on the lolly side," she said.

"The best thing was that my grandparents stored the lollies at home.

"We'd try and stay awake until they went to bed and then we would sneak out to try and pinch a lolly."

Paula reached her 450 game milestone in 2019 and also isn't slowing down.

Mary recalls first taking up the game when she was 14, but thinks if she had of started earlier she might have been able to give Sharon and Paula a run for their money on game number totals.

But quite often the weekend wasn't the only time Mary played.

"I used to play in the Hume League on Saturday, then on Monday I'd go into Albury and play a competition, and I was always the oldest," she said.

"Then sometimes we'd go and play in Wodonga on Wednesday night."

She recalls Jindera's first win finally arriving after their initial three years in the Hume competition, drawing once.

But she was lucky enough to later have some netball triumphs.

"I think the only sensible trophy we got was four ceramic mixing bowls," she said.

"We were all married women and they were very useful, I've still got three of mine."

The legends were all surprised by the club's shed, which sits beside the netball court.

Aimee admitted she's thrilled to be able to recognise so many of the role models in her life.

The 24-year-old hopes it's just the start of a long line of legends to come.

"Sometimes you have to appreciate where you've come from to be able to look forward," Aimee said.

"These people have put in so much work and they emulate what it means to be a true club person and true community person.

"Having these people in the shed and recognising them, and having some still involved at the club, sets a really good example for future players coming through.

"I'm extremely lucky to have three generations before me to set an example on how to be a committed club person and an active community member.

"My hope is that by learning off them, I, and everyone else who sees their example, can pay it forward and continue to build these sorts of people into the next generation, for the club's and Jindera's future."

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