By Amanda Myler
A self-confessed "late bloomer", Caitlyn Strachan (formerly Nevins) is an unsung hero of the Queensland Firebirds’ 2015 and 2016 ANZ Championship premiership years.
Driven by a quiet self-belief, this determined 170cm-tall midcourter was content to remain on the fringes of a spotlight which shone on a star-studded team roster featuring the likes of Laura Geitz, Gretel Tippett and Romelda Aiken-George.
Heralding from Echuca, on the banks of the mighty Murray River, Strachan had her first taste of top tier glory before the Firebirds’ undefeated 2015 season campaign.
"In 2013, I was a replacement player for Sharelle McMahon at the Melbourne Vixens," Strachan said.
"It was Easter weekend, when everybody seems to go home, so I had made my way from Melbourne, where I was at university, to Echuca. It took four hours, whereas it usually is only about a two-hour drive, and I had just arrived home when I got a call from Simone (McKinnis). I missed the call, phoned her back, and she's like, ‘Caity, what are you up to this weekend? Are you able to make the captain's run tomorrow?’. I jumped back in the car and returned to Melbourne so that I could be a part of that opportunity."
Recognition from the Vixens head coach was fitting reward for years of toil Strachan had invested in recovering and rising above a major knee injury suffered in the lead-up to the 21/U National Championships.
"I felt like I was starting to flourish at that particular time, and then the ACL injury happened and I fell out of that high-performance loop, so it was challenging," she said.
"I learned a lot about recovery, and the importance of wellbeing ... perhaps that set me up in a good position for longevity in terms of my playing career.
"But I always had self-belief. I always knew that I was good enough to be in that space and I wasn't far off the mark. That enabled me to keep working really hard in terms of my craft and developing, but there were moments of doubt."
Strachan played out the 2013 session as a Vixens training partner, before securing a full-time contract with the franchise in 2014 when she was used as an impact wing attack behind Australian Diamond Madi Browne.
Remaining in Melbourne was the expected pathway for Strachan, until a surprise phone call from Queensland Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke changed the trajectory of her life forever.
"When Rose Jencke offered me a contract for the 2015 season, there was no guarantee of court time," Strachan said.
"The Firebirds had just lost the grand final to the Melbourne Vixens, so it was a bit of a strange thing to then leave that space, but I think stepping out of my comfort zone and having a different set of eyes provided a big catalyst for me to grow and use that pre-season to develop even further. I felt like I flourished.
"It's not that I wasn't flourishing at the Melbourne Vixens; it's just that it’s amazing what can happen with some court time and perhaps a little bit more opportunity to develop your craft, so I was very lucky to receive that call-up to the Queensland Firebirds.”
Knowing few people in Brisbane, and with the lower offer of a rookie contract, Strachan packed her bags for Queensland determined to show to herself and others that she was worth the gamble.
"Stepping out of my comfort zone sparked something," she said.
"I wanted to prove to all of the players in the team that I was strong and capable. I just put my head down, bum up, and worked really hard."
Connected from the first team meeting, Strachan said there was a collective desire to go one better than the previous year’s grand final defeat.
"The Firebirds embraced differences and different types of play, and I think that they were trailblazers in helping to shake up the game," she said.
"I felt like straight away that I was a part of the Firebirds community. It didn't take me long to settle into the team; I was one of the girls and had so many ‘sisters’. That brought out the best in me."
The Firebirds finished the 2015 ANZ Championship regular trans-Tasman season on top with 11 wins, a draw and a loss.
"The Gretel Tippett-Romelda Aiken combination was just pure flair," Strachan said.
"I felt a good level of satisfaction that if they were shooting well, then I did my job. I think having the backing to bring our uniqueness to the team was really helpful in allowing us to reach our full potential."
Captained by Geitz, the Queenslanders ended up claiming the Australian Conference, Challenge Trophy, minor premiership and overall championship that season, defeating the NSW Swifts in both the Australian Conference final and the grand final to sew up the four titles.
"I just had this undeniable belief that we would be able to get the job done, and that's essentially what happened in that fourth quarter," Strahan said of their come-from-behind one-goal grand final victory against the Swifts.
"We kept reducing the margin by one goal and then another goal. With that, the crowd progressively got louder, and it was so loud that you couldn't hear anybody on the court, even signals for the centre pass between myself and Gretel were becoming impossible. But the crowd became our eighth player out there on court because it really put the Swifts under pressure."
Strachan said she’ll never forget taking possession with 30 seconds to play, which set the team up to secure a lead for the first time in the game.
"Paige Hadley (Swifts midcourter) came into my side and I remember football-grabbing the ball, she fell on the ground and a timeout was called," Strachan said.
"We got the centre pass, had to play the ball around and converted, but with 14 seconds to go it went down the Swifts' end. I remember Geitzy taking an intercept, then the buzzer went and it was just pure euphoria. The crowd was shouting, ‘Queenslander, Queenslander’."
Strahan said that win showed the team’s unity, and a confidence in multiple combinations on court.
"It was a tough match, and we hadn't really been in the position of being down much throughout the season but we were able to fight back by keeping a level head and a really calm attitude," she said.
"We only ended up being ahead for 14 seconds of the game but it was the most important time to be up."
In 2019, Strachan called time on her playing career having amassed three premierships and Australian Diamonds representative honours.
Only then was the qualified podiatrist able to freely pursue an interest in coaching, which has allowed her to give back to the region from where she feels the greatest pull.
"I had huge support from Echuca throughout my playing career," Strachan said.
"It's amazing as a player, you are shaped by lots of experiences, lots of different coaches, teams that you're involved with, and I just felt like I had an army of people behind me supporting me throughout my playing career. As a country kid, I feel that it's extremely important for me to get to regional areas because it's amazing what simply having Sharelle as a role model did for me. There's a lot of talent in country areas but there are still a lot of barriers too."
Having recently achieved her advanced coaching accreditation, while returning from maternity leave to a role as Head of Netball at Somerset College, Strachan remains as passionate as ever about leaving her mark on the game, albeit from the sidelines.
"I'm really grateful to have this opportunity to work within the high-performance pathway," she said.
"I loved it as a player, being able to change some of the set-ups depending on what the defence was throwing out there. Now as a coach, I enjoy a similar thing in being able to help shape the team in slightly changing the way that they go about playing the game."
