Emily Heywood has ridden the highs and lows of Daylesford netball. When she celebrates her 300th senior appearance with the Bulldogs against Dunnstown in the Central Highlands Netball Leaguye at Daylesford on Saturday, she will know she has her whole club behind her. Heywood is one of the true stayers of the club. Living in Ballarat, she travels to the Bulldogs kennel every week to help out a club she sees as part of her family. On Thursday night, she's usually in the kitchen giving a helping hand with the meals. It's a club she says she is willing to help out as much as she can. "it's always been Daylesford, the family played footy there, it's always just been a natural thing for us all and a progression for me to play netball there," she said. "I can't even remember when I started, it was 2000 and something," she said. "It's a little bit overwhelming this week, I'm honoured. "The football-netball club means a lot to me and I'm just honoured to have been a small part of it. The club embraced me and my family, it's a privilege for me to put on the red, white and blue on a Saturday." Heywood, who is this year plying her trade in C grade, said the family nature of the club was what had kept her with the Bulldogs for so many years, admitting she had thought briefly at times about how much easier it would be to play in Ballarat closer to home. "My partner Shane plays at the club, we've also got two little kids who love the mud of country footy, my mm comes and looks after the kids at the weekend, my nephews started playing this year," she said. "It's always the people that keep you coming back. It's all about them, they have built this club. I always keep coming back because of the people." Heywood said she was enjoying her season so far, but was still not sure as to how much she had left in the tank. "I've been lucky enough to have a few friends come back to play with us this year and we've also been able to give a few younger players a chance to step up," she said. "We've won a few games and we're still in the running for finals, we'll just see how that pans out in the end. "I'm a bit on the fence about going on or not. I've pretty much done everything I can at the club, but I will always be there as a supporter no matter what happens. "At the end of the day, it's all about the club. Netball is one of those sports where you can play it five nights a week in Ballarat, rock in on a Monday night at Wendouree, Wednesday night a Llanberris. But for me it's a sense of belonging to the football and netball club."