Chloe and Grace Senior reflect on the ups and downs of their netballing journey

The netball-mad sisters have joined forces in the Roos attack end this year and will have an Ovens and Murray grand final to look forward to if they can topple Yarrawonga at John Foord Oval on Saturday.

It's not the first time the Seniors have played together, having come through the ranks at North Albury, but that was a very different time.

"People forget we were both so young when we first played together," 28-year-old Chloe said.

"Grace, particularly, was young and a few people thought we weren't a good mix because we often had a few words for each other.

"But that's just about growth and this season has given us this opportunity to show ourselves, our family, our coaches and those who doubted the combination that when it's good, it's really good.

"We're a lot older now and we also respect each other's game.

"We can have those calm conversations off the court to say 'this is what works, this is what doesn't work, this is what I need from you' and it's been really special.

"Honestly, I think this is almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us because it's not very often you get to play with a sibling, let alone at the same club, with such a good group of girls and potentially playing for a flag.

"It's definitely a lifetime highlight for us."

It was goal-shooter Grace, 22, who initiated Chloe's move to the Roos in pre-season with her older sister having not played at all in 2021.

Chloe was promoted to A-grade co-coach of North Albury in 2020 but the season never got started because of the pandemic.

"Going into this season, I was a little bit nervous because there is such a big age gap between us," Grace admitted.

"Last time we played together, I was only 16 and I was quite immature but having Chloe there, keeping me calm, has been so good.

"We're super competitive, passionate about the game and passionate about winning.

"We've been brought up that way and we take the game to heart.

"But reflecting back on that time, we know we will never stoop to that again.

"Chloe's good at encouraging me to be a better player.

"She's a really selfless person when it comes to playing netball and she's the hardest critic on herself."

No arguments there.

"We definitely have those conversations," Chloe said.

"Sometimes I really am looking for a fault in my game and I often speak to Grace saying 'this is what I need from you to support me in that role' and she listens so that's how we keep moving forward.

"When you take it to heart a little bit too much, those losses can really hurt.

"That's something we've learnt to be better at although we haven't necessarily mastered it yet."

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But the 2022 version of the partnership is bearing fruit, with the Roos winning 16 games en route to the minor premiership as Grace topped the scoring charts with 726 goals - more than 120 ahead of her closest rival.

"She is so good," Chloe said.

"When she can catch the ball anywhere in the ring and shoot and get it in, that's one of the biggest assets.

"To add to that, she's an amazing holder, rotator, her spin and her bag of tricks...

"It's really hard to match up and that's why playing goal-attack, running around, opening that space up for her, it's fun to see.

"It just flows and it's nice netball to watch.

"Grace is a great netballer; no-one in the league shoots as many goals as she does and she's highly accurate too.

"You might look at 86 percent but when you're shooting 50 goals a game, 86 percent is pretty good."

Acknowledging their journey through the sport is only spurring the pair on to achieve the ultimate goal.

"When I was in C-grade, Grace was 10 and it was a miserable winter's day," Chloe recalled.

"We were training outside then and I remember saying to Mum 'I've had a big day at school, it's pouring rain, I don't want to go' and Grace crying and crying.

"She was like 'get up, we're going to netball training' and I was just thinking 'girl, it is horrible weather, come on!'

"She literally had a meltdown because we missed out on one training session."

"I remember going to North Albury, seeing Chloe play and being so jealous that she was playing in the green and gold," Grace added.

"I just wanted to get out there. I was totally obsessed and I just wanted to play.

"I'm so lucky now to be able to play finals and I'm more than hungry to hold that cup in my hands, with everything I've got."

Saturday's game starts at 12.15pm, with the Roos set to pull in a huge following on their home court.

"Sometimes, when I'm driving, thinking about the finals I get a little bit of a beating heart," Chloe said.

"It's the goal and it's achievable.

"When Grace asked me to play this year, I just thought 'wow, this is probably never going to happen again' and I thought I'd be an absolute fool if I didn't step into such an amazing team.

"I'm so happy I did."

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