27 names: the SEQ sports women to honour this International Women’s Day
A police officer, schoolteacher and a former Queensland Firebird have been named among the most inspiring female sports people to celebrate in SEQ. SEE THE LIST
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They’re on the sidelines cheering, in the clubhouse planning, in the classroom teaching and on the field inspiring our next generation — but these women hardly get the recognition they deserve.
From school teachers, to physiotherapists, to athletes, Quest News is recognising the contributions and sacrifices made by women in sport both in and out of uniform.
Meet 27 unsung heroes from southeast Queensland in 2023:
Susan Croft OAM, Sue Croft Physiotherapy
Susan Croft works behind the scenes to help female athletes live their lives with confidence.
She is a Brisbane-based physiotherapist who specialises in pelvic floor dysfunction, following the motto of ‘earlier rather than later’ to help women of all ages improve their pelvic health.
In females, the pelvic floor muscles help support the uterus and are often weakened by pregnancy and childbirth.
In 2023, Croft was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for her contributions in the field.
Donna Tobin, Sunnybank Rugby League Club
Donna was named a life member of Sunnybank Rugby League Club in early 2023 after years of service.
In 2022 she was a driving force of the club’s financial growth which helped them to develop existing facilities.
During her time as secretary, the club was awarded funding to install a new scoreboard and have their gymnasium fitted out.
Club president Steve Day said he was in awe of her efforts.
“I have been involved with surf lifesaving, swimming and been president of an AFL club and a coach in cricket, but in all my time I have never known anyone to work as hard as Donna does,” Day said.
Catherine Clarke, Paralympics
An award-winning sports administrator, Clarke is the current CEO of Paralympics Australia after being appointed in late 2021.
In 2016, she was awarded Queensland’s Sport Administrator of the Year, and was named among the top 100 most influential women for 2019 by the Australian Financial Review.
Clarke’s sport administration history includes roles within Sport and Recreation New Zealand, International Paralympic Committee, Gymsports New Zealand, Gymnastics Australia, and Netball Queensland chief executive officer.
Lara Lee, Football Queensland
In 2022, Lee was awarded Sports Official of the Year at the City of Logan’s annual sports awards night.
She also received the prestigious Women’s Referee of the Year award at the 2022 Football Australia Dolan Warren Awards.
Lee is a force within Football Queensland, and her list of accolades prove it.
Kim Townsend, Munruben Nak Muay (Muay Thai fighter)
Perth-born Townsend is an Australian kickboxer, Nak Muay, and the current ISKA World Flyweight Muay Thai champion who competes out of Brisbane.
She is a former WMC Oceania and WKN Australia Flyweight champion.
In late 2022, she was named City of Logan’s Sportsperson of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year.
“It means a lot (to be recognised) because I kind of fly under the radar,” Townsend said.
“I’m not one to put myself out there and advertise myself on social media or anything,
so when I get recognition, it always feels good because I’ve got it because of my hard work.”
Kirby Sefo, Sub Her In
An experienced communications officer and talented rugby union player, Kirby Sefo is also the soul founder of Sub Her In, a multi-platform space for women and girls to be empowered through sport.
Sub Her In aims to champion change within the sporting arena, in order to offer more opportunities for female athletes to be engaged and recognised.
As the inaugural captain of the Queensland Reds Super W side, Sefo was inspired by her own experiences to develop Sub Her In from the ground.
She is an advocate for all women in sport and strives to empower through equality.
Christine Blackwell, Logan Brothers Rugby League
Christine Blackwell has been loyal to Logan Brothers Rugby League clubfor many years.
She serves on the committee as secretaryand has seen the club grow in both numbers and atmosphere.
Blackwell not only helps with the books, but is constantly involved in team management, player welfare, and is recognised by members for the time and effort she sacrifices each week.
She is one of the reasons why Logan Brothers continues to produce top athletes, including the likes of NRL names Cameron Smith, Josh Papalii’i, George Fai and Corey Parker.
Grace Harris, Brisbane Heat
Born in Ipswich, Queensland, Grace Harris is an inspiration to young women in cricket.
She is a current member of the Brisbane Heat WBBL side, and was the first women to score two Big Bash centuries
Adding to her batting talent, Harris is a handy spin-bowler and crowd all-round favourite.
She made her ODI debut against Ireland in 2015 as an injury replacement.
Despite falling out of the Australian squad, Harris has played for the Heat since 2016 and has been a key asset for the team.
Mollie O’Callaghan OAM, Australian swimmer
Eighteen-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan has barely graduated from St Peters Lutheran College, Springfield campus, but already holds three Olympic medals and seven Commonwealth Games medals.
The swimming prodigy first represented Australia at the World Junior Championships in 2019 where she won silver in the 4x100m freestyle.
After COVID-19 delays, the then 17-year-old school student wore the green and gold once more, this time as an Olympian in Tokyo.
A year later, she collected an array of medals at the World Championships LC in Budapest (six), World Championships SC in Melbourne (seven) and Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (seven).
To add to her colours, O’Callaghan was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in January, 2023.
She was also awarded Olympic Program Swimmer of the Year: 2022 by Swimming Australia.
Jenny Mauga, Carina Leagues Club Tigers
Jenny Mauga is the volunteer every sporting club wants and needs.
While fulfilling the role of Operations Manager at Carina League Club Tigers (HSS), Mauga worked behind the scenes seven-days-a-week to ensure players, coaches and fellow volunteers were well looked after.
With six daughters, the work never stopped.
Following the 2022 HHS season, CLC Tigers farewelled their operations manager.
But her efforts within the netball community will go on, as she continues to volunteer at club level.
Janette Harry, Queensland Police Service
In 2017, Sergeant Janette Harry was awarded the Exemplary Conduct Medal for her duty to the Queensland Police Service.
While her day work keeps our streets safe, Harry dedicates her free time to the East Brisbane netball community.
She is the current Representative Coordinator for Metropolitan Districts Netball Association and volunteers her time to Royals Netball Club.
In her years of coaching at representative level, Harry has left a lasting impression on athletes.
Riley Day, Australian Track and Field
Beaudesert State High School produced a miracle in the form of Australian sprinter, Riley Day.
The young gun entered the public eye as a 17-year-old competing in the 2017 Nitro Athletics series, which laid the foundation for her debut at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas that same year.
There, she won gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m and was invited to race in the 200m event at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London.
The following year, Day appeared on the international stage once again in the green and gold, for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Her semi-final time of 23.24 in the 200m put her out of the finals by 0.01s to Bianca Williams.
By 2021, and in time for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Day was in top form and ran an impressive 22.56 200m in her semi-final.
The time put her just 0.46s behind gold medallist, Shelly-Ann Pryce of Jamaica.
Brooke King, Canterbury Taipans Athletics Club
Among other roles, Brooke King is the Athletics Coordinator for the Canterbury Taipans Athletics Club in Waterford.
She has helped build the club from ground up since its inaugural year in 2021.
King has been a leading figure for Taipans athletes, with many competing at the recent 2022 Australian Athletics All Schools.
She also offers coaching to athletes 12 and over at Jimboomba Little Athletics, specialising in sprints and jumps.
Taneille Crase, Jimboomba Little Athletics
Southeast Queensland star Taneille Crase made an incredible comeback to her athletics career, placing fifth in the heptathlon event including four new personal records.
The former Jimboomba Little Athletics athlete and coach set new bests in the 100m hurdles (13.42s), 200m (24.48s), shot put (11.89m) and overall score (6026pts).
Crase, 27, had taken eight months off in 2020 to assist with coaching and full-time work while battling a broken toe.
Her coach, Olympic medallist Glynis Nunn, was also suffering poor health at the time which added to Crase’s setbacks.
Despite the struggles, she and Nunn bounced back in 2021 to begin preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
The hard work paid off, and Crase returned from donning the green and gold with many reasons to smile.
Katie Walker, Queensland Firebirds
A former Queensland Firebird and current Queensland Sapphires coach, Katie Walker is an inspiring figure in the netball community.
In 2008, she was named in the Firebirds ANZ Championship side.
She continued playing at state level and captained the Carina League Club Tigers in the Queensland State Netball League (2012-2018) and renamed HART Sapphire Series (2019).
Throughout her playing career, Walker has juggled parenting four children.
While 27-weeks pregnant with her eldest child, she played the grand final match of the 2006 New South Wales Sate Netball League.
Walker also runs a bootcamp-style business (Body Be Ready) that offers a mixture of sessions for men and women.
The sporting gene runs deep through the Walker name, with brothers-in-law Chris Walker and Ben Walker, husband Shane Walker and nephew Sam Walker all playing in the NRL.
Noela Duncan, Metroplitan Districts Netball Association
Hytec Netball Club life member Noela Duncan has worn many hats in her time as a volunteer.
In 2021, she received the Lord Mayor’s Australia Day Sports Award to add to her list of accolades.
Duncan is the current President of Metropolitan Districts Netball Association and has volunteered at the association for more than 40 years.
She is also the current Umpire Development Officer for Netball Queensland, meaning she is always court side using her mentoring skills to help the next generation of officials.
Katie Mangan, Nanango and Distrcit Netball Association
In October 2022, Katie Mangan was awarded the Netball Queensland Spirit of Netball Award for her pivotal role in raising her regional netball association from ground zero.
Nanango and Districts Netball Association had no registered players in 2021, but with the help of Mangan, reached 110 registrations for 2022.
Elected as President in February and tasked with the impossible, Mangan was involved in every aspect of the association’s administration from buying fruit for players to club operations.
Her efforts did not go unnoticed as players, parents and friends recognised Mangan’s endless work as the driving force for Nanango’s rapid growth.
Karrie Webb, LPGA
The now 48-year-old began her pro golfing career in 1994 at the age of 20, playing on the Ladies European Tour.
She finished a commendable second at the Women’s Australian Open, and won one tournament at the Futures Tour in the U.S.
Just a year later, Webb became the youngest ever winner of the Weetabix Women’s British Open and was crowed European Rookie of the Year.
That same year (1995), Webb played through a broken wrist to finish second at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
By 2000, Webb had accumulated a total of 16 professional LPGA Tour wins, including the 1999 du Maurier Classic which she won by two strokes over English golfer Laura Davies.
Webb amassed over 40 LPGA Tour wins throughout her career, seven of which major championships.
In 2016 she was awarded the William and Mousie Powell Award (now known as the Founders Award), voted by fellow LPGA Tour members.
In May 2022, Webb was inducted alongside softballer Tanya Harding into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Shannon Parry, Australian Wallaroos
Wallaroo number 109, Parry is a dual Olympian and was in the 2016 gold medal side.
An HPE and Geography teacher, Parry also works as a coach, guest speaker and commentator.
Her contributions to sport extend to being an inspiration from young women involved in Rugby Union in Australia.
Hulita Veve, Queensland Firebirds
At just 27, Hulita Veve has been a member of the Queensland Firebirds squad since their last premiership season in 2016.
She made her debut in round one of the 2016 ANZ Championships (now Suncorp Super Netball Series) against the Mainland Tactix.
After a break in 2017 when she gave birth to her first child, Veve has been involved in the Firebirds squad as a training partner while playing in the HART Sapphire Series.
She captained the QUT Wildcats (now South Brisbane Wildcats) to a premiership in 2019, the inaugural season of HSS.
In 2021 she moved to the newly established QUT franchise (disbanded for the 2023 season) which finished runners up to Brisbane North Cougars.
Veve gave birth to her second child in 2019 and juggles professional netball with parenthood.
In early 2022, she spoke about how family drove her to fall back in-love with the sport after losing her father.
Imogen Ruyg, advocate for gender equality
Still in her teenage years, Imogen Ruyg is a change-maker of gender equality on the rugby field.
When she was just 16, Ruyg was inspired by a Queensland Rugby Union women’s leadership workshop to make a stand for equitable opportunities in the sport.
She spoke in Queensland parliament in October 2021 to address gender equality.
In her speech, she highlighted the need for rugby to support women as much as women support rugby.
Trish King, Queensland Academy of Sport
In 2022, Trisk King was awarded an ESSA Female Leader of the Year Award for her contributions to the sport and exercise science industry.
She was one of three recipients, and in acknowledging the award, vocalised her passion for supporting athletes to reach their full potential.
King’s day job is with the Queensland Academy of Sport where she is head of performance science.
Jessica Cook, Sport Australia Volunteer
Cook is one of the inaugural nine members of the Sport Australia Sports Volunteer Coalition that was established in 2022.
She has been a pioneer for making position change in women’s footy at the Sandgate Hawks Footy Club and has an intense passion for the sport and athletes.
At the club, Cook is a founding member of the Female Growth subcommittee that drives the strategic direction of women’s football.
Full-time, she works in the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport where she is surrounded by her passions.
Charlotte Caslick, Rugby 7s
There’s no name in world Rugby Sevens quite like Charlotte Caslick’s. An Olympic gold medallist, World Series winner, a Queensland Reds sevens superstar and an idol for many aspiring young women, Caslick now has a sevens competition in Queensland, played for a trophy struck in her honour.
It’s a measure of all Caslick has achieved at just 27 and The Charlotte Caslick Cup will be played for across three tournaments by Queensland Premier Sevens women’s club teams and regional sides late each year.
Jacqui Dover, Basketball referee
Paving the way for young female and First Nation referees on our national stage, Jacqui the first Indigenous woman to referee in the NBL, has quickly become a key voice within the basketball community as she continues to break down barriers and strive for more.
A proud Yugambeh woman, Dover’s recent relocation to the Big Apple hasn’t quite yet sunk in.
Taking her place as one of six scholarship holders at the 2022 NBA Referee Development Program, her ultimate dream to officiate in the world’s biggest basketball league is within reach yet her first focus is navigating the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps.
Shae Graham, Wheelchair Rugby
Librarian by day, wheelchair rugby player by night.
And if that wasn’t impressive enough, Graham is the first female athlete to represent Australia in wheelchair rugby.
The 36-year-old competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics after making her international debut in the 2019 Four Nations Tournament — becoming the first female to be selected for the Steelers.
Read more on the Mackay-born inspiration here.
Bonnie Hancock, Ironwomen and dietitian
Hancock, former Ironwomen and now accredited dietitian is a true inspiration to the next generation of aspiring sport superstars.
Having competed in an Ironwomen at just 17, Hanock has crossed off nine series, represented Australia and now she has shifted her focus to surf ski paddling, coaching and mentoring.
You can read for yourself all the amazing things Bonnie Hancock does on her website here.
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