Mooroopna celebrates Bree Hanslow’s 400th A-grade game, while four sets of brothers take to the park for Cats’ seniors

Bree Hanslow brought up her 400th A-grade game during a 77-29 smashing of the Saints and, though the celebrations have been put on ice for this Saturday’s home game against Tatura, there’s no dancing around it any more.

Hanslow is one of the greats.

The five-time premiership player, 2007 Wellman Family medallist and multiple GVL interleague representative has left an indelible mark on the competition and Mooroopna netball co-ordinator Janene Gattuso is rapt to have had Hanslow at the Cattery for the past four years.

“She has been instrumental for us; she got us our very first GVL grand final in the under-17s along with my daughter as assistant coach,” Gattuso said.

“These girls, their netball is just so much better through the skills of Bree and her knowledge of the game and how she imparts it to the girls, it’s just next to none — I can’t speak highly enough of her.”

For Hanslow, it’s never been about fanfare.

It’s been about loyalty, grit and the kind of on-court IQ that’s been passed down through generations — her mother Di, Mooroopna’s current A-grade coach, is one of the GVL’s most respected netball minds.

That has flowed through to Hanslow, who has won just about every accolade under the sun during a career spanning stints at Tongala, Kyabram, Shepparton United and Mooroopna as well as five years in the Victorian Netball League.

“Line her up against a footballer and she’s got every Norm Smith and ‘Charlie’ medal you could ever have,” Gattuso said.

“They have that saying in netball, here if you need — she’s just here if you need, whenever you need her.”

Hanslow crossed the improbable threshold of 400 A-grade games last weekend.

It happened quietly, far from the noise of celebration or ceremony.

But this Saturday, as Mooroopna hosts Tatura, the club will finally stop to breathe — and to applaud.

Meanwhile, the Cats’ senior football side may not have had the rub of the green at Benalla Showgrounds in round 10, but it did find a flicker of future gold in the most familiar of places: family.

During the game, Mooroopna fielded not one, not two, but four sets of brothers in the same team.

Coby and Kade James, Jed and Ben Woods, Fraser and Campbell McElhinney and Oscar and Will Emmanuelli threw on the hoops on the same day.

And of those eight, five have represented the GVL in one capacity or another.

Years ago, they all attended St Mary’s Primary School, a torpedo’s length from the Cattery.

Then they came through Mooroopna’s junior football program.

And on Saturday, they all went to war for the crest.

Club president Bill Dowling said while having four sets of brothers on the park at once was a special moment, none were there accidentally.

“It’s great and we’ve got to remember that the Jameses, the McElhinneys, the Woodses and Emmanuellis, every single one of those boys — with the exception of Will — played senior footy last year,” Dowling said.

“Yes, it does create opportunities when players leave, but these boys aren’t getting opportunities because we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

Dowling remembers just a few years ago when three sets of brothers — the Betsons, Basiles and Woodses — ran out together for Mooroopna.

This has gone one better — but the bloodlines don’t stop there.

He pointed out that the Osborne brothers, Rhys and Jack, have played senior football at the Cats and, if everything fell into place, could appear alongside Kobie and Ryley Issell as well as the other four sets of brothers.

For a young and developing side, the familial thread might just be the edge Mooroopna needs to build something lasting.

With bloodlines stitched into the jumper, the future is glowing.

From Hanslows to Jameses to Woodses and beyond, the rich family tapestry at Mooroopna is set to decorate the club for many years to come.