By Tyler Lewis
The secret is out.
The key to Narre Warren Football Netball Club’s success is not the training ethics of Trent Cody, the competitiveness of Brit Mashado or even the reliability of Michael Collins…
Its Maree Parnall’s chicken schnitzel rolls!
Parnall slaves away in the kitchen every Thursday night and home game, fueling her beloved Magpies.
She was sworn into the club by a former Volunteer of the Week, the ‘Pies pot pourer’.
“Daryl… Weiry,” Parnall revealed as the reason she arrived at the nest.
“We met at Dandenong West Cricket Club in 1986.
“It’s really only been recent (volunteering), because I have been involved at the cricket club and have done years of work there.
“I started with the bar and I took over the canteen, and I have also done some time keeping.
“It’s hard work, but it’s enjoyable.
“I am passionate about my food, so I won’t let anything go out that is not 100 per cent.”
Those famous schnitzel rolls are Parnall’s best seller and because they bring such big smiles to the faces of her players… they sometimes feature on the menu twice!
“The chicken schnitzel rolls, they’re just so nice and fresh – I sell a lot of them,” she said.
“Even chicken and salad rolls, I sell a lot of them too.
“Well Thursday we did schnitzel rolls… we do hamburgers, we’ve done lasagne, I actually did pulled-pork one day, I cooked it… so I had to be here all Wednesday cooking it.
“We do easy things, parma is another popular one…. it’s ‘parma’, this is Victoria!”
While she loves her role at the club and many enjoy the close comfort in home games, Parnall often looks forward to the away games that allow her to return to being in the thick of the action.
“I love everything, the people are just so friendly,” she said.
“Away games I watch every minute, that’s the only thing I miss, I used to watch every game.”
A small part of Parnall’s role that she enjoys is interacting with the players in the canteen and seeing their smiles, when they realise that volunteering can sometimes be a bit of fun.
And while she loves ALL of her players, there are a special few she likes sneaking behind the line.
“I like the volunteering of others in the canteen, “she said.
“The netballers and footballers come in and they all go ‘jeez this is fun’.
“Before they weren’t volunteering because we had people that were paid to be running it.
“I have sort of got two (favourites), Ruby Dwyer and Delainey Brown.”
Parnall has one more home game, and a Narre Warren-based final, before she can hang up the apron on Saturday’s and enjoy the finals action.
