They share a rare passion as they take to the field each weekend with their teammates to contest a sport they love.
For matriarch nanna, Judy Markwell, 78, netball was her sport as a young girl, which she played for many years.
Interesting to recall that the game at the time was known as women’s basketball, but changed to netball in 1970, when it was widely played in Australia and New Zealand.
Her daughter, Jodie Markwell, 56, who played netball as a young girl and well into her life, has produced three adult children Stephanie, 33, Tyron , 30, and Jeremy Baden, 26, who inherited their families sporting skills.
Although Jodie no longer plays netball, she finds it difficult not to become involved, and, besides keenly observing family members from the sidelines, she has become a valuable team manager of the C-grade Reserve team.
The family previously lived in Darwin, but Tyron was keen to play football in Victoria and made the decision in 2011 to head south.
Initially invited to play with the Shepparton Bears.
The following season he signed with the Cobram Tigers and has proven himself to be an integral part of the senior side ever since and revels in his position in the midfield.
The talented footballer is currently assistant coach of the thirds and enjoys being a mentor to the boys.
Now 30 years old, he has made Cobram his home, working with G-MW and married to Sarah who played netball before the birth of their little ones, Lottie, three and Luka, eight months.
The birth of Lottie was the turning point for the remainder of the family to move south to Cobram three years ago.
“We wanted to keep the family together and to be involved in the lives of the little ones, so three years ago we came down to Cobram, and definitely made the right decision, we’re loving it,” Stephanie said.
A keen netballer Stephanie, 33, has shown her skills at centre in C-grade for the Tigers and loves it.
She has two daughters, Ashlynn Russell, 13, and Evie Russell, 10, both of whom are playing their second season with the club.
The pair has already shown rare skills for their ages and have the height to do a fair amount of damage in their positions at GD.
Ashlynn plays GD and C in the under-13s, while Evie plays GD in the under-11s.
Stephanie coaches Evie’s team and is team manager for Ashlynn, who was runner-up best-and-fairest, last year, and has been selected in the under-13 representative MFNL side.
The youngest sport loving Russell is Deegan, six, who is not ready for football yet, but appears to have a liking for soccer.
He does, however, love to go along and watch his two uncles Tyron and Jeremy Baden out on the football field.
Jeremy plays in the reserves side, generally on a halfback flank and is a valuable player wherever selected. He is employed with PCUB in Cobram.
One cannot help but ask what did Cobram Football Club offer a player and his family to entice them to travel across the breadth of the country?
“It’s the friendly family environment at the club, it is something we have not experienced before, and seeing the kids making good friends and enjoying their sport in such a good safe town, it is ideal for us as a family,” Jodie said.
Perhaps, put simply, it’s not really about the sport, but about belonging.
The club becomes more than a team, it is a multi-generational community anchor with a connection that often remains there for life.
It has been known that fellow regional clubs such as Cobram that provide netball and football teams have in the past represented an entire family tree.
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