NEW RAYS LOOK TO FNQ
NORTHERN Rays defender Chloe Cooper believes next year’s inaugural Sapphire Series will provide the perfect avenue for regional athletes to pursue their netball dreams.
The Rays announced Magnetic North Steelcats players Cooper and Brooke Williams as their first signings earlier this week while also unveiling their logo and playing colours.
Cooper is the reigning MVP for the country division in the Queensland State Netball League while Williams is a Samoan international and has played at the elite level in NZ.
Cooper came through the same junior pathways in Townsville as current Super Netball players Kim Jenner and Cara Koenen, but chose to focus on her university studies over netball.
The Sapphire Series was formed to let regional players like Cooper play at a higher level, and the 20-year-old said she jumped at the chance.
Williams will miss three weeks of the Sapphire Series as she represents Samoa at the World Cup in England, but Rays coach Jillian Joyce said it was a “no-brainer” to recruit the Steelcats pair.
The Rays will finalise their core squad of 10 players in January and have called for expressions of interest from players from Townsville, Cairns, and Mackay.
The new team will play three home games each in Townsville and Mackay in their first season along with six away games in Brisbane and pre-season matches in Cairns.
Joyce believed they had the talent to be a force in the Sapphire Series.
“Certainly the rivalry between the Steelcats, the Marlins, and the Sharks is bigger than ever so we’ve got to bring the cream of those teams together,” she said.