A Star Shooter Halted by Something She Couldn’t See Coming
For Amelia “Milly” Brock, the goal circle has always been a place of certainty. At 194 centimetres tall with a calm release and a reputation for clutch shooting, she was a cornerstone of the Bendigo Strikers’ inaugural Victorian Netball League campaign in 2024.
But just as the 2025 season loomed, something shifted. Words tangled. Energy disappeared. Familiar fears resurfaced.
Milly was hit by anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis — a rare autoimmune brain condition that affects fewer than one in a million. It was her second episode in five years.
A Sudden Spiral Back Into Darkness
In early January, disorientation at work prompted colleagues to rush her to hospital. Tests in Echuca hinted at a recurrence of the same terrifying illness that had nearly taken her life in 2020.
Within hours, Milly was airlifted to Melbourne. Under the care of neurologist Dr. Matthew Ligtermoet, she slipped into a month-long fog — hallucinations, seizures, confusion, silence. She lost the ability to speak, walk, or swallow. Security guards stood outside her room to protect her.
Her family kept vigil. Her mother Jennine cried on the long drives home. Her partner Ellie and her father Darren stayed by her side through two weeks of stillness. Her sister Rosie, a nurse, never left her.
This time, at least, they knew what they were fighting.
A Community Rallies Behind Its Shooter
Back home in Echuca and Tongala, the community moved fast.
Her childcare centre raised nearly $19,000.
Her netball club added $4,000 more.
The funds allowed her family to stay close as weeks blurred together.
When Milly stabilised, she transferred to the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. No visitors, no colour, no noise — just slow progress and the long road back.
“When I left in May, I couldn’t even say the alphabet,” she recalls.
The Shot That Never Left Her
Before she could speak again, she could shoot.
Her mum brought a netball to rehab. Despite months of illness, Milly instinctively rose, aligned, released.
“Mum said, ‘You might not know the alphabet, but you can shoot a netball’,” Milly laughs now.
The muscle memory stunned everyone — but made perfect sense. Her brain hadn’t been destroyed; it had simply shut down temporarily.
As her speech returned in fragments — nicknamed “glitches” by her teammates — her confidence followed.
A Return That Felt Like a Final
By July, Milly was ready.
On July 12 in Barooga, she stepped onto the court for Tongala’s A grade side. The roar that greeted her felt like a premiership. Her partner Ellie fought tears. Her co-coach and close friend Grace Hammond held herself together as they paired in the goal circle again.
Because she’d missed early rounds, Milly was still eligible for B grade too — easing in one quarter at a time.
Eight months after she couldn’t walk or talk, Milly played in the Murray Football Netball League’s B grade grand final and helped Tongala win a premiership.
“That medal wasn’t about netball,” she says.
“It was proof I got back.”
Life After Encephalitis: Quiet Strength and New Dreams
The illness hasn’t vanished. It lingers, silent but ever-present. Milly visits the hospital every six months for preventive treatment. She worries about relapse — and what it might mean for her family and for Ellie.
But for now, she is grounded, grateful, and focused on life’s simple joys: mowing lawns, shopping, planning her wedding after Ellie’s October proposal.
Her comeback wasn’t defined by one dramatic leap but by dozens of tiny victories — the first syllable, the first step, the first dance, the first goal.
The court never judged her for slowing down. Its lines held steady, waiting for her return.
And when she stepped back inside that circle, one truth remained unchanged —
the shot was still there.
So was she.
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