Sport
25 August, 2022
Decorated Harcourt netballer Suzie Rinaldi ticks off 500th game, club best and fairest
Harcourt celebrated a momentous occasion last Saturday afternoon when club legend Suzie Rinaldi suited up for her 500th game. Fittingly, the Lions won their C grade clash against Newstead 45-27, with Rinaldi playing a key role, earning two votes...
Harcourt celebrated a momentous occasion last Saturday afternoon when club legend Suzie Rinaldi suited up for her 500th game.
Fittingly, the Lions won their C grade clash against Newstead 45-27, with Rinaldi playing a key role, earning two votes from the Lions thanks to her 26 goals.
Put simply, Rinaldi is the Lions’ — and quite possibly the Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League’s — most decorated player.
In 28 seasons with the club, Rinaldi has won a staggering 20 best and fairest awards — including taking out the C grade trophy on Saturday night, as well as six runners up, while she’s won 10 premierships — four in A grade, two in B grade and four in C grade.
Her form as a goal attack has also seen her hold the goal scoring record in a single season, which has remained unmatched for over 20 years — scoring 810 goals in 2001.
Lions’ A grade coach Lauren Peeler remains in awe when she talks about everything Rinaldi has achieved in netball, right down to her contribution as a spectator.
“She’s absolutely tenacious in attack, and one of the hardest playing players from her A grade history through to her time now in C grade. She will play with broken fingers and not tell you about it,” she said.
“She’ll give everything to netball — she trains so hard off the court as well; you constantly see her running around and putting in extra efforts. She’s also always first to put her hand up to score in A grade if someone can’t do it, and she is willing to sit with her whole family from under 13s, which her daughter plays and she coaches, right through to the end of the A grade game, week in, week out. She’s a loyal player, a loyal spectator, and she’s coached five seasons as well now in under 11s and under 13s.
“There is only one season that she didn’t play, only because Harcourt didn’t have an A grade side, which was in 1994.”
Fresh off Rinaldi’s club best-and-fairest award on Saturday night, Peeler suspects that she’ll be up there again in the league vote count, to be held on September 5.
“She won our best and fairest on Saturday night. I think she’ll be up there in our league vote count. She’s just so consistent. In the 1989 season when she started in A grade, she was voted the most consistent player then, and she’s still our most consistent player at the club today, having myself been involved in all three grades,” she said.
While most goal attacks are generally meant to play a role where they can feed the goal shooter in netball, Rinaldi’s smarts in the goal circle means she can also prove to be a dangerous goal scorer with the ability to take a game by the scruff of the neck.
“I think there is only one person who has come close to her record (of 810 goals in a season),” Peeler said.
“Suzie hasn’t missed a game, she’s essentially played every quarter this season apart from one, perhaps, and as a goal attack, she’s dominant, even though it’s normally a feeding role for the goal shooter, it just goes to show how consistent she is.”
Rinaldi’s achievements capped off an impressive home and away season all-round from the Lions, who stormed into the top four of A grade netball thanks to a 10-game winning streak, while Rinaldi and her C grade teammates ended the season atop the ladder. Their B grade team also secured the double chance.
It’s a big day for the Lions tomorrow, with Rinaldi and her C grade teammates looking to secure a berth in the preliminary final against Newstead, while the A graders will look to put an end to Avoca’s longstanding winning streak at Princes Park.