NASERI WILL PLAY NURTURING ROLE IN SEVENS
SETU Naseri will spearhead Griffith University’s mission to progress up the Women’s Aon Uni Sevens Series rankings this year.
Griffith placed fourth of eight in the inaugural competition, behind unbeaten premiers University of Queensland, Gold Coast rivals Bond and Sydney-based Macquarie University.
After its immediate success, the series is widely expected to expand for the 2018 edition and Griffith are determined not to be left behind.
Naseri has been appointed in a twofold role as women’s director of rugby – encompassing Griffith’s affiliated club team Colleges Knights – and a specific role in the Aon coaching set-up.
Naseri’s coaching background includes as an assistant with Bond’s Queensland Premier Rugby team.
“I have long followed sevens,” he said.
“I have been assistant coach and manager with the Queensland men’s in the past and I helped one of the Queensland youth boys teams in the nationals recently.
“There is increased interest and energy around the women’s sevens program at the moment and I suppose as an aspiring coach this provides another pathway to grow your experience and get exposure to working at those high performance levels.”
As part of his director of rugby duties, Naseri will work on developing local talent to be ready for a shot at the Aon scene.
“As a coaching group, we would be pushing for our side to be playing semis regularly at every one of the legs,” he said.
Griffith players Shannon Parry and Demi Hayes are part of the Australia women’s sevens squad at the Commonwealth Games.