By David Nagel
Cranbourne superstar Tara Cecil is building one of the great records in community sport with the star defender recently adding a remarkable sixth league best and fairest award to a trophy cabinet already bursting at the seams.
Cecil’s most recent success – her fourth consecutive league award – places her in rarefied air as one of the outstanding sportspeople in the region.
It’s an achievement that has largely slipped under the radar, but the athletic and highly-skilled defender – who has represented both her state and country – deserves sole focus in the spotlight after her 2021 success.
She is a brilliant player…but above all else she is fiercely loyal and totally devoted to the Cranbourne Football Netball Club.
Cecil started her netball journey like so many others – getting a feel for the game through Netta at the age of seven, before progressing to competition outings with friends.
But that’s where the similarities to most netball careers end.
Cecil was just 12, in grade six, when she tried out for her first state team and got the nod.
“I made the Victorian under-12 team and that’s when I started playing netball all the time, during the week, on weekends, training or playing, I couldn’t get enough netball,” she said.
“During that time I played my first game for Cranbourne and I’ve been there ever since.”
Cranbourne’s gun stopper continued to try out for state teams, successful in her endeavours in the under-15s and twice – at bottom and top age – in the under-17s.
At under-15 level she was selected in the Australian team that toured New Zealand and at 17 she was invited to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.
“I’ve been really lucky to have travelled around Australia and go to New Zealand for my netball, to play the sport I love, and I tried out for all those teams until under-17s,” she said.
Cecil then tested her ability at Victorian Netball League (VNL) level with Monash University, where she reached the elite heights of the championship division, before she took an extended break from the elite level of the game.
While building her impeccable record at Cranbourne, she had four years away from the VNL before in 2018 she joined the Peninsula Waves…a place she still calls a second home today.
“I just needed a break from that level of competition but I’ve loved playing for the Waves and I’m really enjoying that level of intensity and training again,” she said.
“The footy league we play in is a great standard; there are some amazing players, but at VNL level you play with and against faces that you see on TV playing Suncorp (Super Netball).
“It’s a really high standard and enjoyable to be a part of.”
Cecil trained with the Vic Fury squad last year – that represents Netball Victoria in the Australian Netball League (ANL) – but interruptions due to Covid didn’t allow the usual selection process to unfold.
But she still has an open mind as to what that might look like in the future.
“While my body is young enough, and fit enough, I would like to keep pushing myself at Cranbourne and VNL level and if that leads to something else then that would be great,” the 28-year-old said.
Cecil has worked through the down times at Cranbourne since playing her first A Grade game at the club as a 15-year-old in 2008.
That was the year where she raised eyebrows around the league by finishing third behind Beaconsfield’s Bridget Gargan and Doveton’s Jodie Bird in the A Grade league best and fairest award!
In total she has won six league awards (2011, ‘13, ‘17, ‘18, ‘19 and ‘21), finished runner-up twice (2012, ‘15), three times in the top three (2008, ‘10’ 14), and in 2016 she finished fourth behind Beaconsfield’s Kaela Hughes.
But it’s that elusive A Grade premiership at Cranbourne that she would trade for in a heartbeat.
“I’ve been there right from the start, since the age of 15, and we definitely had our rough years, 60 or 70 goal losses in some of those early games,” she said.
“Now we’ve pretty much had the same core group in our A Grade squad for several years and we’ve built a team that works really well together, plays as a team, and that’s why I still love playing at Cranbourne, the girls…and the team we have built.
“In 2018 we made our first grand final (against Tooradin) and then had an amazing finals series in 2019. In one game we were down by 10 going into the last quarter, we drew and then won in extra time.
“So we’ve made the last two grand finals in a row, the last one against Olinda, the standout team all season and we only lost by three.
“They were an amazing team, no-one came near them all year, and it was an incredible effort from us.
“We were looking good again this year so hopefully that premiership is not too far away…I think we have a team that can definitely pull through in finals.”
While Cranbourne means a lot to Tara, the feeling is obviously mutual with the gun defender recently earning life membership.
“That was an incredible thing to receive,” she said.
“The club means so much to me, having been there from the start, and I’ve never wanted to leave – there’s never been a time when I’ve doubted where I was.
“It’s just an amazing group of people that play or work at the club and it just keeps you coming back, the culture is awesome, and I couldn’t ask for any more in a sporting club.”
Cecil puts her individual success down to a mix of hard work, natural talent, a good feel for the game and the confidence to compete against the best.
Some elite standard coaching and inner drive are also key pieces of the puzzle.
“I pride myself on being consistent each week, regardless of the score, pushing myself to make sure I’m playing my best, not just for myself, but for the team,” she said.
“Playing for Victoria and Australia you do get access to the very best coaches and I think what you learn from those coaches’ sticks with you all the way through.
“And I’m a confident player, regardless of who my opponent is on the day I just go out and play my best game and adjust my style to suit who I am playing against on the day.
“And I have absolute confidence in my teammates, full trust and confidence, good teammates make you look good as well.”
Cecil, who has a huge leap, good pace, and is one the best interceptors in the game, is about to embark on a new experience at Cranbourne…coaching juniors next season for the very first time.
“I have no coaching experience at all, but I’ve got to an age where I think I can pass on my knowledge and experience to the younger players at the club,” she said.
“It’s quite exciting to pass on that knowledge to the juniors at a club where I’ve played for most of my life.
“If I enjoy it, who knows, coaching might be something I take a little more seriously down the track.”
Cecil, who rates former Doveton star and now Melbourne Vixen goaler Rahni Samason as her toughest opponent, says she has one major goal in mind as she tries to crystal ball the rest of her career.
“I will play at Cranbourne until we win an A Grade premiership…so if I’m 60 years old and still running around in a netball dress, you’ll know why,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s all I want. I just want to experience the thrill of winning a premiership with Cranbourne.
“It’s nice to win the individual awards and be acknowledged, but I’d swap the individual awards for a premiership any day.”
Just one more trophy Tara…and that trophy cabinet will finally burst at the seams!
