Diamond Creek’s decade long dominance of the Northern Netball League continued last month when the club claimed its 10th consecutive Section 1 premiership with a 15-goal win against Ivanhoe.
The Diamond Creek Football and Netball Club is one of the largest and oldest clubs in the Diamond Valley, the club itself running for over 125 years. The netball side of things only came to be 12 years, however according to the club it is the best thing that has happened to them, especially after this monumental achievement.
One woman to have celebrated the most from Diamond Creek’s triumphant winning streak is Kristie Gannon, who created the Diamond Creek Netball Club and contributes to the Northern Netball League.
“It is massive! It didn’t really kick in until mid-season that 10 years in a row could be an actuality,” Kristie explained. “It’s not just a premiership, it’s history for the club and something we will be remembered for.”
A former player herself, Kristie said sporting moments like this don’t come around often, which has made it even more special for the wider Diamond Creek community.
“The girls are bringing the flag home because the boys haven’t really brought one home for a while,” she joked.
“The footy boys do say to us it’s so inspiring what we’ve achieved because lots of teams never even experience a single premiership, or premiership match for that matter,
“It’s really nice that everyone who plays for Diamond Creek are from our local area. Like we don’t get players from Woop Woop to move and play and it’s from our little community which makes it even richer for us.”
For Kristie, this moment really has been a decade in the making with dozens of players and supporters making it possible.
“I think it’s been a combination of having some of those older players, with the mental game and the smarts on court, with young up and coming players, it creates that dynamic through the court and they just jell really well together.
“We might not train as much as some other clubs because most of our players have VNL or Footy Netball most nights, but when we do come together for those two or three group trainings’ over the year, we are a united team front.”
A turnover of Diamond Creek players in the Section 1 side, there were between 20 and 30 players across the 10 years; only two of them playing in every single premiership match. One of these players was Kristie’s sister Stacey Gannon.
Some might know Stacey from the Ariels’ VNL Championship team, however it has been Diamond Creek that has helped her over the years at VNL.
Stacey said the reality of 10 consecutive premiership is still hard to believe.
“It feels spectacular!” she said. “I mean this year we had spoken about it being a big year and how important it was to get the job done. However, after the game and celebrations, to sit back and actually think about it, well I still get goose bumps.
“Having that label ‘the team to beat’ means week in and week out we play teams that bring their A game, which has pushed us along in our journey to get the 10 in a row!”
A veteran to the Diamond Creek Football and Netball Club, Stacey said she has had the privileged to help younger players fight their feet and guide them.
“I do see myself as a mentor, I have coached a fair few of the younger girls coming through and I know how much talent they have so I love getting out on court with them to push them and to see amazing things happen.”
When asked what the future hold for the sporting legends of Diamond Creek, Kristie knows their time may come to an end, but for now let the good times roll.
“We’re just striving to continue our winning streak. It’s going to end one day, and we know that, but for the time being it’s quite glorious! We have some incredible young players ready to step up and continue our legacy though, and I have nothing but full faith in them.”
Her sister Stacey clearly agrees and is looking forward to 2020.
“What’s next… winning the 11th and trying to I guess go as many as we can! Keep building and growing stronger!”
