The Northern Football Netball League (NFNL) has announced its Premier Division 1 Netball Best and Fairest award will be renamed the Stacey Gannon Medal, recognising the remarkable career and contribution of one of Victorian netball’s most accomplished athletes.
A Diamond Creek netballer for almost two decades, Gannon has built an extraordinary record both at the NFNL and at the higher levels of the sport. Her achievements include 13 Premier Division 1 premierships, four Premier Division 1 Best and Fairest awards, five NFNL Team of the Year selections, four NFNL representative honours and more than 200 Victorian Netball League (VNL) appearances.
Gannon has also represented Victoria at the highest levels, including her time with Victorian Fury, while continuing to make a significant contribution to the NFNL through coaching and mentoring.
“I was pretty overwhelmed, to be honest. I was a bit lost for words when I found out,” Gannon said.
“It’s something that I never thought would happen, but when I got told about it earlier this year I was a bit taken aback. But super excited that it’s happening.”
For Gannon, her time in the NFNL has been an important part of her development as a player, providing an opportunity to apply the skills and lessons gained through higher-level netball while playing alongside friends and teammates.
“I was moving up my netball pathway and ended up playing with Victorian Fury, which was my development period, and then having Friday night games in the NFNL was a real asset to my netball because I got to play with my friends and have fun – that’s when you play your best netball,” she said.
“Whatever I was learning at trainings [with Victorian Fury], I could come back and practise it in these NFNL games.”
Her impact now extends well beyond her playing career. Gannon continues to give back to the game through coaching and mentoring, including her involvement with Diamond Creek and the NFNL’s junior representative program.
“I just love coming back. It’s a really good club culture [at Diamond Creek] – I’m playing but coaching as well, building that culture and bringing the next group up and trying to pass on my knowledge to as many people as I can,” she said.
“I love to learn, so even as a coach I’m still always learning. At the moment I’m coaching in the VNL and whatever I learn from elite coaches I try and then pass back to the young girls coming through at Diamond Creek.”
The NFNL’s decision to name its premier netball individual honour after Gannon reflects the lasting impact she has had across community and pathway netball in Victoria.
NFNL General Manager of Netball Operations Lauren Theodosis said Gannon’s achievements as both a player and coach made her a natural choice for the honour.
“When you look at what Stacey’s achieved both as a player and a coach in the NFNL, it really speaks for itself and she was a standout candidate,” Theodosis said.
“We’re so pleased that Stacey accepted this honour and it really does cement her legacy as one of the best players to ever step onto an NFNL netball court, along with her work in the coaching space with Diamond Creek and the NFNL representative program.”
NFNL CEO Daniel Kelly said the new medal represented an important moment for the league and recognised the growth and history of its netball competition.
“This is a really significant moment for the league and shows that the history of our netball competition has grown to the point where we have people of Stacey’s calibre who deserve recognition of their achievements over a long period of time,” Kelly said.
The inaugural Stacey Gannon Medal will be awarded at the Rosbrook Gannon Night at Flemington Racecourse on Wednesday 16 September, recognising the NFNL Premier Division 1 netballer who best embodies the qualities of excellence, consistency and contribution that have defined Gannon’s career.
For Netball Victoria, the honour is a fitting recognition of a player whose journey has spanned community, pathway and elite netball, while her ongoing commitment to developing the next generation ensures her influence on Victorian netball will continue well beyond her playing achievements.
Sourced from the NFNL website
