Vale Debbie Atkinson, Lemnos’ quiet Swan who soared above the rest on the netball court

In fact, not many wore it better.

But during her reign as one of the Goulburn Valley League’s more decorated netball players, Atkinson embodied the poise best attributed to the most delicate of Earth’s graceful creatures.

Others ran. She glided.

Her technique, immaculate as it was breathtaking, wasn’t refined on the court during training, for her goal shooting ability was as natural as any God-given resource.

And beneath the physics-defying athleticism, net-swishing prowess and gracious totality was a quiet woman whose aureate heart shone through with every shy smile.

Shepparton’s netball community lost a pioneer when Atkinson died on January 7.

A three-time Swans best-and-fairest and triple Wellman Family medallist, A-grade premiership winner and Swans life member, Atkinson elevated the bar for what excellence on the netball court looks like.

Former Swans president George Gilby described her as “a real generational player’’.

He was right.

Atkinson was a netballer who danced on the minds of those watching her, leaving a lasting imprint that suggested she was an avant-garde talent years ahead of her time.

“I’ve been around a long time, the memory fades a little, but I certainly remember Deb,” Gilby said.

“When she was around, I don’t think there was really a state league netball team — had there been, I’m sure Deb would’ve been one of the first selected.

“She was exceptional on the netball court, but a real quiet achiever.”

Plenty would agree Atkinson was a quiet soul, but no-one could argue with her reputation as a fierce achiever.

Atkinson was recruited by Lemnos during the formative GVL netball years in the early 1980s, a scene far removed from electric scoreboards and pristine playing surfaces seen today.

The young goaler didn’t have so much as a marked space, let alone smooth asphalt, to work with.

Her former coach Tanya Mathieson said in Atkinson’s era, Lemnos’ original netball court was as humble as they came: a car park behind the old Shepparton Civic Centre.

Did it matter? Hardly.

“Back when she played, the league wasn’t as big as it is now. But every year she won the best-and-fairest, she deserved it too,” Mathieson said.

“She just flew; she had this natural ability to grab the ball in the air, turn around and shoot.

“She also had the most beautiful smile and you’d give her all these accolades and she never put herself up there at all.

“She’d just accept it, say ‘thank you’ and that would be it.”

The warm exterior and humble nature was ever-present.

But when Atkinson took to the court, she grew wings and her inner swan took flight.

Atkinson’s teammate Di Selman, who later umpired, had front-row seats to the Swans’ weekly box office and doted on the goal shooter’s talent.

“You just couldn’t pick fault, no matter what she did it just seemed to come off,” Selman said.

“She was very fluid, being in the right position at the right time.

“Deb was very quiet, but she was always very friendly and on the court she was just a dream to watch and umpire. She never put a foot wrong.”

Atkinson went on to win her first Wellman Medal in 1984 and, in a shock move, left to join Ardmona the following year to play with friends.

Sure enough, she picked up the Kyabram District League netball medal and returned to Lemnos in 1986 for her swansong and second Wellman victory.

Atkinson then player-coached Wunghnu in 1987 and also received a call up to the Australian Indigenous Netball team that contested an international competition in the Cook Islands.

Back at the Swans in 1988, Atkinson won her third Wellman and signed off on her time at Lemnos by helping the club attain the A-grade GVL premiership in 1989.

Her swag of medals and accolades were all achieved during her early 20s and it’s known that she played the last of her Wellman-winning seasons while pregnant.

That’s how good Atkinson was.

A mercurial shooter who could “throw goals from anywhere”, her every movement was a study in quiet power, her every shot a moment of perfection that seemed almost preordained.

But Atkinson, in her characteristic humility, would deflect such adulation with a shy smile, as if her genius was merely incidental.

Even Atkinson’s former mentor Mathieson admitted her former student’s brilliance was impossible to mould.

“She is probably the best player I’ve ever played with and coached — not that I could coach her anything,” Mathieson said with a laugh.

“She was just head and shoulders above everybody else.

“If she was playing in these days now, she’d be (playing) for Australia, no worries.

“That’s my opinion, I thought she was just the most talented player I’ve ever come across.”

Shepparton Swans honoured Atkinson with life membership in 2013 while the GVL inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 2019, becoming just the second netball player to make the list at the time.

Her post-playing days were spent supporting her seven children — five of whom grew up to become star goal shooters — while she was also a passionate supporter of Rumbalara Football Netball Club.

Following the avalanche of awards, the admiration of teammates and rivals alike, and a legacy as one of the Shepparton Swans’ most beloved players, Atkinson’s time on this earth came to an end earlier this month.

She was, in every sense, a swan: beautiful, serene and unforgettable.

But high above, this swan will fly forever.