Before Jess Porter was a Swan, she had established herself as a Raider.
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But in-between her transition from the Ovens and Murray to the Tallangatta and District, the skilled midcourter built a name for herself in Melbourne's Southern Football Netball League.
Porter rose to the top as South Yarra's head netball coach, leading the club to a premiership, while also enjoying a stint with Caulfield Bears.
"When I joined Caulfield Bears, it was essentially Albury-Wodonga dropped into a Melbourne club," she said.
"There were so many people from here playing there, it was really nice.
"I met some of my best mates there. I miss them dearly, but it's nice to have a fresh start."
After recently relocating back to the Border after close to nine years away, Porter was lured to Chiltern by high school friend and fellow Swans' netballer, Cassie Parker.
While it's her debut season in the TDNA, Porter admits there's plenty of familiar faces around in the likes of past Raiders Haylee Penny (Kiewa-Sandy Creek), Erika O'Connell and Kath Fryer (Tallangatta).
"It's funny seeing a lot of people I used to play with back then that are still playing in the O and M, or now I'm playing against them in the Tallangatta League," she said.
After taking last season off while pregnant with her daughter, the mum of nine-month-old Pippa said "it's nice to be back" on court.
"I didn't really know what to expect, but I didn't have high expectations either," she said.
"I expected just to listen to my body and to not be afraid to come back, and not be afraid of my body's capabilities."
Chiltern currently sits in third spot on the ladder, with second placed Thurgoona and fourth placed Dederang Mt Beauty also achieving six wins and one loss so far.
Having had a strong off-season with recruiting, the new-look Swans are shaping up as a force to be reckoned with.
"We're such a new team, but we've been able to click quite early on," Porter said.
"It's been a really successful season thus far.
"We've had some tough games up early, and we'll have that again obviously for the second half of the season, but it's been good to come up against those teams and see how we actually perform."
Chiltern pushed reigning premier Kiewa-Sandy Creek during the sides' round two clash.
"The difference I guess for us was inexperience," Porter added.
"They're such a well oiled machine, but that will come for us with time and I think it will be a really good hit-out the second time around."
Chiltern takes on Wahgunyah for round eight, while Tallangatta and Thurgoona are set for a showdown.
Dederang Mt Beauty meets Kiewa-Sandy Creek, Beechworth hosts Barnawartha, Wodonga Saints collide with Rutherglen and Yackandandah plays Mitta United.
