Sharni Layton struggles to think of herself as a former Vixen, having failed to play a single minute in her sole year on the club's list. But that frustrating 2008 experience inspired the netballer who now ranks among the world's finest, even as it came perilously close to driving her permanently from the game.
"Playing with the Vixens is definitely a far, far distant memory in the back of my mind," the Magpies' superstar laughs before Sunday's second Melbourne derby against the Vixens at Hisense Arena.
Of the little she recalls of her fruitless debut ANZ Championship season, what endures for Layton is being in the tiny minority to see no on-court action at all. "I remember that being the fire in my belly to be like 'I'm gonna show you that I can be the best player in the competition'." So, does she think she has? "I think so, but I don't care now!"
Cue more thumping laughter that fills the crowded Albert Park cafe. "That was the initial reason, but now I'm like 'I just wanna play cos I love it'. You find different goals, but at that point in time that was the motivation that I needed and they gave it to me, so I'm very grateful for that. Thank you Vixens."
Not that Layton necessarily blames then-coach Julie Hoornweg for the splinters in her permanently benched backside, considering where she then was as a player and fact that the likes of Bianca Chatfield and Julie Corletto were preferred. "My attitude wasn't in the right place and I was a bit of a smart-arse. I thought I worked hard, but I probably didn't work as hard as I thought, and so (Hoornweg) clearly didn't have the trust to put me out on court. And did I do the work to show her that she should put me out on court? I probably didn't.
"So upon reflection she had every right to not put me out there, but at that point in time I was a 20-year-old who thought they deserved to play. I was a bit righteous and she put me back in my spot and that was the best thing she ever did for my career. And in learning that, when I went over to Adelaide, I knew that I had to change and I had to change my body type, that I had to be fitter and I had to change people's perceptions of me and I had to do the hard work."
Layton did so, retreating from club netball in 2009. Her goal was to play for Australia at the World Youth Cup, and her strategy to call then AIS – now Vixens – coach McKinnis seeking a return to Canberra where, in 2007, she had enjoyed the only truly happy year of her post-junior career.
"I've always been a passionate person and I don't believe money or whatever should dictate what it is that you do in life, and so for me I was like 'yes, if I stay in Melbourne, I know that I'll get paid, but I hate netball'. And I actually hated it, so if I didn't leave, I probably would have quit."
Hence the call to the respected McKinnis, a fellow straight-shooter. Mornington Peninsula-raised Layton's plan was to chase her 21s ambition, then retire to pursue her original passion of becoming an Olympic equestrian. Part A was realised despite an elbow dislocation that kept things wobbly until a week before the team's departure. Part B, thankfully for netball, never was.
The 29-year-old can chuckle about it all now, through the prism of all that has happened since. Two World Cup triumphs. Commonwealth Games gold. The Diamonds' captaincy for this year's Tests in South Africa and England. More than 100 trans-Tasman and Super Netball Games for three clubs.
After four seasons and one flag with the Thunderbirds, she was lured to the NSW Swifts in 2014 where coach Rob Wright found the key to unlocking the best three seasons of the crazy-competitive defender's career. But then the Pies came calling, as did the lure of family, and home. For a lifelong Collingwood supporter, It was a combination too potent to resist.
Yet one of the new club's marquee signings admits that all has not gone as smoothly as – others, anyway – had expected for a team containing five Diamonds. The Pies are an underwhelming fifth after six rounds, with a LWLWLW record, cohesion issues, and having tried four goal attacks, the tone set by a surprise 58-55 opening night loss to the Vixens after a collective preparation of just eight days.
Layton believes the team almost tried too hard, and while still far from gelling completely, is far closer than it was six weeks ago. "Yes, we've grown since but, hell, so have the Vixens," she said of the 4-1-1 local rival that leads the league for both scoring and accuracy. "Maybe there was that expectation that they were a younger team and all this kind of stuff, but now they've proven that they're actually one of the top dogs, if not the top dog, in the competition so far."
Layton, meanwhile, says she has learnt plenty about herself, coming from consecutive grand final appearances with the Swifts to a new group finding success elusive. Then there's the Magpie factor. "Every team wants to come out and absolutely kick Collingwood's arse, and it's just a fact and we're prepared for that."
Now at her fourth club, the 46-Test Diamond jokes that her "Tour de Oz" has seen her wear so many colours that it is her status as a "rainbow zebra" that is now truly black and white. And so be it. "You can say what you want about people playing for different (teams), but you've gotta do what you've gotta do to be able to grow, and I wouldn't be here or where I am today as a player if I hadn't."