Halleen revels in sharing 350th with Mandurah community

The passion and love Rachel Halleen has for the Mandurah Magic is highlighted by what she wants more than anything in her 350th NBL1 West game on Saturday night is to share a win with the next generation of girls from the community afterwards.

You can't quite call anyone else the heart and soul of the Mandurah Magic while Casey Mihovilovich is still running around and doing what she's doing only adding to her legendary status night after night.

However, if anyone was going to rival her for that title it would be Halleen who has been an outstanding leader in her own right over 349 games now dating back to 2006.

She initially even played through having a ruptured ACL before succumbing to the reconstruction but then returning seven months later. 

Halleen has had plenty of other hurdles to overcome, but what has always shone is how much love she has for the Mandurah Magic, her passion for the local basketball community and that's what continues to spur her on.

Sure, that elusive championship would be nice and winning is always better than losing, but it's that community that means everything as she prepares for game 350 on Saturday night at home to the Willetton Tigers after taking on the Lakeside Lightning on the road on Friday to open Round 8.

Winning motivation to celebrate with next generation

Above everything else, what Halleen instantly thinks about when she prepares for her 350th game on Saturday night to the Willetton Tigers is how grateful she is that she gets to play the milestone it home.

It wasn’t meant to be the case but sometimes fate intervenes and now above everything else, she hopes by the end of the game she can be in the changerooms singing the song. 

And none of that has to do with wanting to do it for her own milestone, but because sharing it with the basketball community in Mandurah is ultimately what makes her more motivated than anything to continue running up and down the court.

"Originally it was going to be on the Friday night but then our game against East Perth got postponed because of the slippery court saga so it kind of worked out in my favour in a way so I could celebrate with a home crowd," Hallen said. 

"My family would have been there regardless if it was a home or away game, but there's something really special about our home crowd in Mandurah. We've got a really good sense of community down there and while the club has been through its hardships and there's no hiding that. 

"But the people that are at the club now have nothing but the best interests for the club at heart so to be able to celebrate with them on the home court will be really special. But it's the kids that really make it what it is. Our changerooms are packed with kids after a win. 

"We have them crowded through the changerooms to sing the song with us and that's always amazing. So I'm really hoping that we can get the win on Saturday night just so we can fill the changerooms with all the kids and have the celebrate with us as well."

Sharing milestone what makes it special

Getting to 350 games is a remarkable achievement, but at the same time it's having that escape of basketball and the fact that she gets to come to training and games to share with her closest friends in life that's made it easy to rack up that amount of matches too.

"I know 350 games sounds like a lot but when you're doing something that you love that doesn't actually seem like it's that much, it's not like it's a chore," Halleen said. 

"You play basketball because you love it and you wouldn’t do it if you didn’t love it. It's that outlet from work as well that it gives me and other life factors so basketball is almost your break from that and the part of your week you most look forward to. 

"Spending time with teammates that you adore and it's more than just the basketball, they almost become like your family."

Reaching a milestone like 350 games doesn’t mean much if you are celebrating with yourself which is why Halleen is most looking forward to sharing it with the people who mean the world to her.

"You've got people like Casey Milo, Rachel Pettit, Carly Boag, Kelly Bailey and even Bree Mullenax who doesn’t play anymore but she's my best friend and basketball brought her into my life along with all the other girls," she said. 

"I definitely regard them as my closest, and nearest and dearest, and we talk about the sisterhood of Mandurah Magic, and that's exactly what it is. 

"They are much more than teammates and that even includes the coaches I've had throughout my career like Randy Miegel and Patty O'Kane and Brooke Burns. They're not just coaches either and have played a huge part in my basketball career and life so they're up there with my top friends as well."

Calling Casey Milo a teammate/friend

Halleen is about to celebrate her 350th game as part of a career that started in 2006. This is her 18th season playing with the Magic and despite that, it's remarkable that she's almost 200 games behind her teammate Mihovilovich.

Mihovilovich is a walking legend and the league's games record holder at 537. Halleen would have to play into her 40s to rack up that many games and that's assuming 'Milo' ever stops herself.

One of the highlights of Halleen's career will always be playing alongside her.

"She's just a workhorse in every aspect of her life, I don’t know how else to put it. She literally has every minute down to a timetable in her day and it's very special to be able to train alongside her, and play alongside her," Halleen said. 

"She makes the people around her better whether that's on the basketball court or just in life in general. I think anyone who has the pleasure of being a friend of Casey will say the same thing, she makes you a better person and she wants nothing but the best for everyone around her. 

"She definitely strives for success herself but wants nothing more than success for people around her even more."

Trying to win that elusive championship

Halleen began her SBL career at the Magic in 2006 when she played four games as a 16-year-old.

In the years since, Mandurah has continued to bang on the door for that first championship reaching Grand Finals in 2006, 2009, 2017 and 2018 while getting to quarter finals in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2021, semi finals in 2015 and a preliminary final in 2022.

Halleen has been part of teams who have been contenders for much of her career so that desire to break through is only growing year after year.

"I'd obviously love to win a championship and to win one with Casey playing would just be a fairytale really," Halleen said. 

"That's the ultimate goal but at the end of the day I love basketball regardless of winning or losing, it's more than just being about that. We could lose every game and I'd probably still want to be playing with the girls that I'm playing with at the moment. 

"It's not always about winning, but winning obviously is what we want and is a lot more fun, and winning that championship is the goal. Going so close several years in-a-row but not being able to get that championship, it makes that fire burn a little bit harder inside to eventually get there."

Hallen sees no reason why this season couldn’t be the one where the Magic breaks through. They went close again in 2022 losing to a Warwick Senators team who went on to win the National Championship.

She can't help but think what might have been for the Magic if a few things went their way and now there's every reason think this could be Mandurah's season with them currently sitting at 4-2 heading into this weekend's double-header.

"We've got a really strong team this year. We had a few games where we were a bit undersized when Carly went to China, but we've got Hanna Hank on board as of this week so to bring in another big body is just what we need," she said. 

"There's no lying, we are quite short in size this year so it will be interesting how we go adding Hanna into the mix. 

"But by all means, anything's possible and after making the prelim last year and losing to Warwick who went on to win the National Championship, it makes you think what might have been. There's no reason why we couldn’t go all the way this year, we've definitely got the team that can do it."

Passion for the Mandurah Basketball Association

Off the court, it hasn’t been the best past 12 months for the Mandurah Basketball Association.

However, what tough times does do is allow you to weed out those people who don't have the best interests of your club at heart, and those that do.

Halleen stuck firm in her dedication to remaining involved at the Magic and supported the club to get things back on track, and she's confident that has now happened.

"When there's people who have been involved who haven’t had the club's best interest at heart, it just makes you realise how much the club means and that you want to get the right people back involved for the right reasons, and that's what we've done now," she said. 

"You want to show that the club is bigger than those people and that money isn’t everything. Obviously having money helps, but that's not the biggest part of what makes our club special. 

"It's having the right people with the right intentions involved at the club that will make the right impact. Having good culture will have more of an effect long-term than any amount of money ever will."

Taking the chance to reflect

Players still continuing their career often aren’t willing to reflect on what they have done until they retire, but not many players reach a milestone as significant as 350 games either.

Getting to the mark does provide Halleen with a chance to reflect on the pride she feels on what she's accomplished and overcome, but also the support she has had and continues to receive.

"I am proud and it is a special moment to get to a milestone like this," Halleen said. 

"I know my family are proud of me and I'm very thankful to them for being there along the journey through all the highs and lows, and lost Grand Finals, knee rehab and various ankle sprains and injuries.

"I'm very grateful to have such a supportive family and friends as well, but you definitely do feel proud to get this far. To still be playing, you just never know what life's going to throw at you so you keep doing the things that you love while you can. 

"There's no reason I can't keep playing longer though. I have no intentions of hanging up the boots yet. I know I'm 33 this year and some people think that's old, but you're only as old as you feel although some mornings after training I question that."