FOR the last five years Lili-Rae Campbell has spent her Saturdays padding up for St Pat's and shutting down strikers, but the 2022 grand final could very well have been her last as a Saint.
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The star goalkeeper revealed her time in the women's Central West Premier League Hockey competition could be over following Saturday's 2-1 grand final loss to Lithgow Panthers.
However, if Campbell doesn't pull the helmet on next season she still has plenty of good memories to take with her.
It includes being named the league's best and fairest goalkeeper alongside Souths' Steph Hinds for season 2022.
"It's possibly my last year of hockey, I'm going to the police force academy next year, so this is a nice way to finish off if this my last year," she said.
"It's nice to get my name on something and leave a legacy. I've played in this competition since I was 12.
"I started with Blue Jays in Dubbo, I had year with an Orange team and I came here [St Pat's] in 2018.
"So it's nice to finish with this [award], get my name on something if I don't come back and if I do come back, I'll try and win it again.
"My last year could have been years ago if I didn't find Pat's, they're good girls, a great bunch."
As Campbell indicated, she first signed up as a Saint in season 2018.
Her first match keeping for the Saints - she shared the duties with Tracey Gunning that season - resulted in a 3-1 win over Confederates.
Campbell went on to win a grand final with the Saints that season, Pat's posting a 5-2 victory over the Panthers.
She made another grand final appearance in 2020, the Panthers won that clash 2-0, with Saturday's decider against the same Lithgow club the third of her Premier League Hockey career.
Campbell produced another typically strong display - there was a one-on-one save, there was double blocks in the same penalty corner play - but there was also a bit of a different ending.
As the Saints desperately chased an equaliser, Campbell was subbed out of the match with 3:45 left on the clock.
"In my head when it started to tick down I was thinking 'Take me off' there's no point being out there as a keeper when we needed to score," she said.
"It didn't worry me at all, I was praying for it to happen, and when I saw the officials come on the field, that's when I knew it was my time to go off, watch the end and hope for the best."
Though Campbell has long been praised by the Saints for her skill, the league award was the first time she'd been handed a trophy for her work.
To share it with Hinds, who played a major role in Souths qualifying for the finals for the first time in seven years, was something she enjoyed too.
"It's good as a goalkeeper I'm very grateful there's an award like this, not just personally but for goalkeepers in general because sometimes we don't get the recognition," she said.
"I don't think there's many comps that would have this kind of award, so it's nice that we have it and we get recognised."
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