On Saturday 6 July 2019 Hamersley had 4 of our 18U teams play friendly games against four teams visiting from England. These teams were from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. All players and coaches came away from this day with memories and long distance friendships. By the end of the day the bus driver had to drag the kids away from one another after exchanging social media contacts; the 21st century version of “pen pals” as suggested by our very own Lyn Pemberton. We would like to thank all the Bromsgrove players, coaches and managers for a great day on and off the netball court. To our Hamersley teams, coached by Beth Harvey, Nicole Mann, Ellie Sanzone and Maddie Hunter, thank you for representing our club and congratulations on a great day.

Hamersley Netball Club strives to live by its values of Belonging, Respect and Professionalism. In the Warriors Cup this season both "Hamersley 16" and "The Hammers" were two of our teams competing. These two teams were recognised for their tremendous sportsmanship and grace while versing the Currambine Tactix. We would like to congratulate our Hamersley teams on representing our club with such high standards and thank Michelle the manager of the Currambine Tactix for her positive feedback. “I just wanted to compliment you all on the lovely group of ladies who represented your club with such grace and sportsmanship. Your girls showed some incredible talent and our games against both of these teams were a highlight of the day for our players and parents. Please pass on my congratulations to the coaches, managers and players who participated and we look forward to playing against you in the future.”

In her 10th season with Hamersley, we were so pleased to celebrate Nicole Fevre’s 150 Game Milestone on Saturday. Nic has shown great loyalty to Hamersley - after her first season in 1993, she's had a couple of extended breaks but has continued to return to us. Nic is now joined at the Club by her daughters Brooke and Chloe and it was fantastic to have them share in the celebrations. Congratulations Nic! We look forward to your continued involvement with Hamersley and hope to see you notch up another milestone in the next few years.

Congratulations to Katie Mitch for achieving her 250 Game milestone for Hamersley Netball Club. Katie is one of the longest serving members of our Club, with her involvement spanning a massive 32 years! Katie has done it all, representing the Club as a player, coach, umpire and committee member resulting in her being honoured as a Hamersley Legend. And what a Legend she is!! Katie you bring something special to the Club with your passion and loyalty. You are a true representation of what our Club is all about and you have a way of including people and making them want to stay and be a part of Hamersley too. Thank you for all that you have done over the years. We look forward to your continued involvement for many years to come.

On behalf of Hamersley Netball Club we would like to show our appreciation and say a big thank you to Amanda Tremaine for organising the successful application of our BankWest Easy Grant for $1,000. This is greatly appreciated and will be used to replenish our equipment stocks. Thank you BankWest!

On behalf of Hamersley Netball Club we would like to say a huge thank you to Dan Coleman for creating the “We Are Hamersley” banner which looked brilliant at the the Curtin University Stadium for the Comets’ inaugural home games. Your efforts are very much appreciated by all!

Netball is a sport like many others that unfortunately at times sees players get injured. However like that saying “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” our players come back better than ever. Here is a story about Kristy Horner, a young Hamersley player who is now playing in Team 1 and Curtin Hamersley Comets, as written on behalf of her mother. "In June 2015, my 16yr old daughter ruptured her ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) which required surgery to allow her to play netball in her future. ACL surgery is considered elective surgery, and therefore has limited cover from private health insurance and Medicare! This injury happened during a Saturday competition game and so we were able to utilise the insurance which is included in Netball WA fees (Willis Netball Australia Risk Protection). Upon receiving confirmation of a complete rupture of the ACL by MRI, we had no idea where to go! We found that talking to members of Hamersley Netball Club and especially those we knew had undergone the surgery previously, gave us a wealth of information and pointed us in the right directions for physios and surgeons. The decisions were ours to make, but it helps to hear from others, their stories and who they have used to help us to make informed decisions. After visiting the physio 2-3 times a week, to get the swelling to go down and to improve the 'range of movement', as much as possible, the surgeon agreed to do the surgery! As a 16 yr old, my daughter had to take responsibility to sign for the surgery to take place, which was very confronting for her, but we got there! After waiting all day in pre-surgery, at 3:45pm they took her into the operating theater and after awaking from surgery 3½ hours later singing very loudly, 'GHOSTBUSTERS', her long road to recovery began. The original MRI was not covered by any insurance so we had to pay in full for that, which seems to be the norm for MRIs. We also had to pay for the Anaesthetist fees, these you need to check on when booking in your surgery. Our surgeons anaesthetist covered by Medicare was unavailable, so we opted to go ahead and pay. The surgeons fees were covered by our private insurance, as well as a percentage of the Physio visits. Physio GAPs for the 12 months, Travel and a Gym membership for the period of rehabilitation, was covered by Netball WA Insurance. This insurance needs to be checked out as it works in sections, a certain amount of money for certain things, ie up to $500 for Gym Membership. At the time, the total limit was $2,000 and I claimed just under this amount. You cannot claim anything that has even 1 cent of Medicare, but some other things unexpected that can be claimed for are tutoring and childcare, so you need to talk to them about your situation and ask about specific things that may be claimable for you. Playing netball is her only passion, so it was fantastic the support Hamersley Netball Club, their Committee and coaches as well as her team members gave her during her 12 months rehabilitation. She was included as a team member all season, during Tuesday night training and Saturday games and even received a Grand Final Medal at the end of the season. This also continued into the next season, when she was well on the road to recovery. It has now been an eventful 4 years since she 'Did Her Knee' and it was definitely worth the approximately $2,000 we were out of pocket to watch her play in the blue and red dress, and now orange and blue as well!"

Thank you to everyone that attended the Curtin Hamersley Comets Music Bingo Fundraiser night on Saturday at Kingsway Olympic Sports Club. It was so great to see so much support for the club, and so many amazing costumes. Our fundraiser would not have been possible without the tireless work of our fantastic Events Committee! Thank you to Mel Hunter, Pam Richardson, Claire Rafferty, Sam Morgan, Naomi Arrigo, Charo Wilson and Leanne Bruce.

The prize for the most Hamersley Raffle tickets sold by a family has been awarded to Boudene Huckle. Boudene has won three private specialist coaching sessions with High Performance Coach Lyn Pemberton, valued at $400, to be held at Warwick Stadium over the next few weeks. Don't forget, the Raffle will be drawn this Saturday 31 August at the WDNA courts. The winners will be officially announced on the Hamersley website the following Saturday. Good luck everyone!!