BRAGG STILL ON A HIGH FROM DEBUT
GEELONG netballer Mel Bragg says she is still on a high following her Suncorp Super Netball League debut on Sunday.
The Collingwood training partner was sitting on the bench in the clash with NSW Swifts when defender April Brandley was ruled out with concussion late in the third quarter.
Bragg, who formerly coached Grovedale in the GFNL, said her first taste of Super Netball was an overwhelming experience but one she would look back on fondly.
“I was happy just sitting on the bench but I got the chance to come on which was very exciting and something I thought would never happen,” she said.
“I remember going out there and just trying to maintain my composure and be really calm because obviously I was very excited, but I was also extremely nervous.
“It was an amazing experience and the crowd was really loud, which was another element I hadn’t had to battle with before, but I tried to play my role and I think I did my job.
“I’m still in shock that I got an opportunity to go out there and debut, and when I hopped on the court the girls all got around me straight away, so it was really nice.”
Bragg has been toiling away with Tasmanian Magpies — Collingwood’s feeder team in the ANL — since joining her new club but has been working tirelessly on the court in her role as training partner, impressing Collingwood’s coaches and her teammates.
She said having fellow local Vanessa Augustini as a training partner helped her settle when she first arrived, but added she has enjoyed every element of stepping up to the highest level of netball in the country.
“Every time I go in there (to training) I’m in shock and am inspired by all of those girls because they’re girls that I have grown up watching on TV and who I want to be like,” Bragg said.
“To get to train with them every week is amazing. I feel like every time I go in there I learn something and the girls are so helpful, so I come out a better netballer and a better person.
“I didn’t really know Madi (Robinson) before I came in but I have known Vanessa for a while, so at the start it was good to have a familiar face but very quickly everyone became friends with everyone and we’re a very tight-knit group.”
Bragg is unsure if she will get another chance with Collingwood this season, but said she would continue her hard work on court with the Magpies in the ANL, who have a double-header with Queensland Fusion this weekend.