Kellie Bailey’s 250th

Few people have had a bigger impact on the Craigieburn Eagles than Kellie Bailey. If you’re talking about players, probably nobody has. Kellie bleeds brown and green and certainly in my brief time at the club, I have seen no player that comes close to emulating Kellie’s passion, commitment and love for the Eagles.

Many players have come and gone in that time but the one constant has been that Kellie has not only been on the frontline fighting for her beloved Eagles, but that she has always led from the front, marshalling her team and doing everything physically possible to get the win. Certainly from a coaches point of view, the first and most important position in any team is the point guard and to know that I’ve always had such an outstanding leader that picks herself at that spot is impossible to put a value on, especially in our two championship winning seasons.

It has probably been Kellie’s leadership that has set her apart from her peers more than anything else. An automatic choice as captain, Kellie has had the honour of raising the only two championship banners in Eagles history, two moments I am sure are amongst the fondest of her 250 game career.

The past decade plus has seen Kellie mature from a talented young guard into a legitmate star of the Big V. I am honoured to have coached Kellie in six of those years and for the multiple club MVP’s and league awards, if I can give her no other accolade, it is simply that without her we would not have experienced the success we did.

250 games is an amazing achievement. I congratulate Kellie for not only reaching it, but for doing so all at the one club a club she loves so much and I look forward to seeing her reach many more milestones along her wonderful career.

Warren Taylor