Northern Hawks’ newest 100-gamer Kate von Stieglitz hadn’t planned to play netball again this year.
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Already flat out juggling jobs in TV production and wedding photography, the 22-year-old had made up her mind to take the year off as her teammates continued the hunt for an elusive grand final victory.
But when some early-season injuries and the winding-up of the wedding season in April led to a phone call asking for her return, she was only too happy to swap snapping newlyweds for snapping up loose opposition passes in defence.
“They asked me if I wanted to come back and I thought ‘why not, I love it and the club’s great’,” von Stieglitz said.
“Having that bit of time off at the start of the year made me realise how much I miss it and miss the girls.”
Starting the season with 90-plus games to her name, von Stieglitz brought up game 100 in a 99-41 win over Burnie last month.
The achievement was made all the sweeter in light of multiple ankle injuries which have somewhat hampered her four seasons at State League level.
“Not many people would probably do that, it’s a bit of a milestone and I can’t really believe I’ve done it, it’s pretty unbelievable.
“About two years ago I chipped a bone off my ankle in the first 30 seconds of a game so that took me a couple of months to recover.
“But having the girls around definitely helped me get back on board - they always make me feel a part of the team.”
Von Stieglitz’s next assignment will be a clash with winless OHA at the Silverdome on Saturday night.