THE Wimmera Netball Association second semi-final on Saturday will carry extra importance for Emma Koschitzke when she plays her 200th A Grade game for the Warrack Eagles.
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The impressive midcourt player said the moment would probably not even cross her mind.
“I think it will be just nice to get the win – especially seeing as it’s a final – and I won’t even think about the 200th game,” she said.
“I love the club and have obviously never played anywhere else. It will be really nice to have played 200 games there.”
Koschitzke played her first A Grade match in 2004 at the age of 17.
“There was certainly a big jump form juniors up to seniors,” she said. “The pace was a bit faster and the bodies were bigger.”
She was part of the club’s 2011 and 2015 A Grade premiership teams and the 2017 Hatcher medallist said it would be amazing to add a third premiership at the end of the month.
“We feel like we’ve had a really good year and to top it off for the win is what we’re all playing for,” she said.
“It’s been a really tight competition this year though so anything could happen – we just need come out and play well so the result will take care of itself.”
She has also been lucky enough to play with a lot of the same players consistently since debuting.
“Over the past ten years things haven’t changed dramatically at all,” she said.
“I learnt a lot playing with Jane Richardson and now with her as our coach.
“It’s been awesome to play a lot with my sister Sarah (Spicer), to play with someone the calibre of Penny Fisher has been great as well and it’s always enjoyable playing with Megan Werner.”
She said that the biggest part of her game that had developed since making her debut was an ability to stay composed.
“In the pressure games I’ve been able to play with more composure and I think that just comes from experience and maturity,” she said.
“I’ve played in a lot of finals – so I guess as you play in more high-pressure games you tend to deal with the nerves better.”
In recent seasons Koschitzke has become more of a leader at the club.
She coached the A Grade side in 2016 and she said she had enjoyed passing on her knowledge.
“Over the last couple of seasons we’ve struggled with our juniors but we try to get around them as much as we can to keep them at the club,” she said.
“I haven’t really done any junior coaching but that might be something that I might do in the future.”