Netballers seeking ‘net profits’ at Northern Uni Games

Social media reporters Hannah Sbeghen and Ainslie McCormick interview netballer Jacob Rawson about netball at Griffith University, excitement for the upcoming Battle of the River between Griffith Sport and QUT, and aspirations for success at the 2015 Northern University Games in July

Tell us about Griffith’s netball teams. Are they a mix of males and females?

Griffith University (Brisbane) is taking four teams to the Northern University Games in Toowoomba in July. We have two mixed teams and two women’s teams. Outside Uni Games, the Griffith University Netball Club  (the GUNs) has experienced huge growth with six mixed teams representing the club. These include competitive and social teams and they are all achieving great results. Our Mixed 1 team is a previous winner at the Northern University Games and there have been some outstanding achievements among our players, including a number of state and national representative honours.

How much organisation has gone into the playing and social side of the Uni Games?

Quite a lot of time and effort. Behind the scenes there’s plenty of organising to be done, including the arranging of teams following trials, organising payments and uniforms, and making those important preparations for social events, such as acquiring costumes.

The Battle of the River between Griffith and QUT will be held at Griffith’s Mt Gravatt campus on Sunday, June 28. How important will this event be in the lead-up to the Northern University Games?

The Battle of the River will be a great opportunity to test all we’ve been working on at training. Plus we’ll get an insight into who we’re up against. We might not be giving it all away at the Battle of the River, but we will definitely be keeping an eye on the QUT tactics and working to ensure victory at Uni Games. Anything can happen, so we are going to be prepared.

Has GU Netball taken on QUT before? Is there a rivalry?

We’ve played QUT many times at the Northern University Games and their teams always present a challenge. QUT has a strong pool of experienced players and was the first team to defeat our Mixed 2 last year after two days of being unbeaten. We’re excited about the Battle of the River being an opportunity for a new rivalry to begin.

Netball, basketball, touch football, futsal and handball will all be part of the Battle of the River — celebrating the rivalry between Griffith Sport and QUT — to be held at Griffith University’s Mount Gravatt campus on Sunday, June 28, from 10am-3pm . A trophy presentation will follow.

All game times are published at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1460902864221680/