Listed: The Tweed’s next generation of sporting heroes
The Tweed Shire has a long list of sporting champions and the next generation are ready to make their mark. See who made our list of the region’s best up-and-coming talent.
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With numerous world sporting champions, the Tweed is a hotspot for rising stars.
From the country’s best waves and sports facilities to its coaches and glorious weather, the region is a breeding ground for Australia’s next generation of stars.
We have spoken to those in the know to compile a list of the Tweed’s top 17 rising stars.
If you feel there is someone we have missed, we’d love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments section.
SURFING
Dane Henry
A Fingal Head local, the ultra competitive Dane Henry has been tagged as one to watch since riding in his first Australian Titles at the age of 12.
Now 16, the natural-footer’s list of achievements include the under-14s crown from the 2019 Australian Junior Surfing Titles held at Margaret River.
Known for his signature aerial approach, good judges believe his well rounded skills are destined to become a permanent fixture on the world stage.
Micah Margieson
Like father, like son. Micah Margieson is an established competitive surfer following in the footsteps of his ‘90s icon father Brendan.
Since winning the under-18s category at the 2018 Australian Junior Surfing Titles, the Cabarita local has mixed with the world’s best.
Now 22, Margieson has the credentials to rise above his current ranking of 34 on the World Surf League ladder.
Kyan Falvey
Another Cabarita up-and-comer, Kyan Falvey won this year’s Billabong Oz Grom Cup at Park Beach, Coffs Harbour.
Still 17, the 2021 state representative who lists Andy Irons among his favourite surfers, still has dreams of winning a pro junior title.
Jalaan Slabb
From Fingal Head, Jalaan Slabb is a proud Bundjalung woman with extraordinary talents on both surf and land.
Born into a surfing family, the 17-year-old has taken wildcards and competed in challenger surf series events. But it is out of the water where the surfboard shaper is making the biggest splash.
Famous for her unique designs, Slabb has shaped boards for many including two-time women’s world champion Tyler Wright.
Quincy Symonds
One of only eight females under the age of 18 to score an invite to last month’s Vans Stab High aerial event in Indonesia, Quincy Symonds showed the world why she is known as the Flying Squirrel.
A rising star nominee at this year’s Australian Surfing Awards, the Tweed Heads surfer is a standout performer in both pro junior and aerial events.
SWIMMING
Flynn Southam
Tweed based Southam has long been touted as the next big thing in Australian swimming.
In an amazing year, when the Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar freestyler wasn't shooting for top marks, he was pocketing Commonwealth Games gold.
With three top podium finishes, first in the men’s 100m and 200m relays and then in the mixed 100m relay, Southam gave fans a taste of what might lie ahead.
As a junior, some of Southam’s times bettered those set by Olympic champions Kyle Chalmers and Ian Thorpe at the same age.
HOCKEY
Kendra Fitzpatrick
Whenever talk turns to hockey in the Tweed, the Fitzpatrick name is never far away.
With Casuarina sisters Savannah and Madison having already followed their father Scott onto the international stage, it only seems a matter of time before younger sister Kendra joins the party.
Already an under-21 Queensland representative, the midfielder’s quest for Hockeyroos honours has seen her head abroad to join Madison in the respected Dutch League.
RUGBY LEAGUE
Oskar Bryant
A Cudgen junior, Bryant is a classy hooker heading along the region’s proven pathway to the professional ranks.
Educated at renowned rugby league nursery Palm Beach Currumbin State High, the flame-haired dummy-half was a member of last season’s NSW Under-19s State of Origin squad.
Having already caught the attention of Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook at last year’s trials, Bryant will be out to crack the club’s top-30 after accepting a train-and-trial opportunity.
Thomas Weaver
Another Cudgen Hornet junior, Weaver and regular teammate Bryant have climbed the league charts like peas in a pod.
A classy playmaker, Weaver crossed for the Blues in this year’s under-19s Origin victory and also made his Queensland Cup debut, starting twice at halfback for the Tweed Seagulls.
Signed with the Titans until the end of the 2024 season, it only seems a matter of time before the prodigious 19-year-old gets his chance to set the NRL alight.
AFL
Imogen Evans
A Coolangatta-Tweed Heads junior, Evans joined Collingwood via the Gold Coast Suns Academy, and this season made her AFLW debut in the side’s opening round victory against bitter rivals Carlton.
In a day to remember, the talented 18-year-old midfielder slotted her first goal in the second quarter, a classy strike from the outside of her right boot.
Known for a strong overhead mark, it’s Evans’ commitment in defence that sets her apart from the rest of the pack.
LAWN BOWLS
Kira Bourke
Originally from Victoria, Kira shifted to the warmer greens of Club Tweed in 2019 - the same year she was crowned Australian Under-18 Girls Singles champion.
With new coaches and greater exposure to high-level tournaments, Bourke made it back-to-back under-18s titles before once again taking her game to another level.
Still only 20, the Tweed Heads Ospreys rep recently confirmed her rising status with selection in the Australian Emerging Jackaroos squad.
Keira Powell
At 15, and having bowled for the past four years, Keira Powell is the antithesis of lawn bowling’s old-school image.
Another Victorian to prosper in the region’s friendly weather, she has flourished since joining Club Tweed’s junior program. And after impressing at the recent Queensland junior championships, her career took another step forward with selection in the 2022 Queensland Junior Development Squad.
ATHLETICS
Macey France
A genuine all around athlete, 13-year-old Macey France finished third for NSW in the under-14s long jump at the Australian Athletics Championships. She then backed up for Queensland at the Australian Little Athletics Championships, claiming long jump silver and relay bronze.
Recently in Sydney, the Tweed Little Athletics rep won the long jump at the NSW All School Championships.
When she’s not at the track, Macey can be found kicking a Sherrin at the Northern Rivers Suns AFL Academy or strutting her stuff as part of the Gold Coast Academy of Sports Future Stars program.
Lyla Williams
An under-16 race walker, Williams heads to Adelaide next month for the Australian All Schools championships.
Under the guidance of respected Gold Coast based coach Robyn Wales, Williams has had a breakout 2022 that to date includes victories in the Queensland Road Walking Championships (5km), QRWC track and club (road) championships and Queensland track and field State Championships (3km).
CRICKET
Max Bryant
The older brother of rugby league young gun, Oskar, Max has been prime time since he first cleared the pickets for the Brisbane Heat in 2018.
Primarily an opener, the hard hitting Murwillumbah born right-hander now has 1012 runs to his name in the T20 format, and back in January struck his highest score, a punishing 81 from just 56 balls at Marvel Stadium.
At 23, and with two Sheffield Shield games under his belt, time is still on Bryant’s side to reach international status in all three formats.
Caleb Ziebell
Much more than a cricketing all-rounder, Cudgen’s Caleb Ziebell is the king of bush sport.
In 2018 he won the NSW Country Rugby League Player of the Year award, then last year, the cavalier right-hander was named in the NSW Country Cricket Team of the Decade.
As for the next step. If last month’s form in Brisbane’s inaugural T20 Max competition is any guide, his broad shoulders could soon fill BBL screens.
Playing for the Gold Coast Dolphins, Ziebell blew away a host of professional stars with bat and ball to win the Andrew Symonds Medal as player of the final.
SKATEBOARDING
Chloe Covell
Big tricks, bigger ambitions. That's the rising world of 12-year-old street skater Chloe Covell.
Earlier this year, the Tweed Heads goofy-footer was the youngest competitor at the X Games in Japan. Stunning the field, she finished with bronze, bettered only by two medal winning riders from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Now with one foot on the international stage, the youngster is firmly focused on scoring a ride at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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