GOLD COAST’S MOST
WHO are the most influential women in sport on the Gold Coast? We reveal the female figures who have changed the game and had the biggest impact on their respective codes in part one of our series.
KELLIE BRADSHAW Gold Coast Dolphins Secretary
The Gold Coast Dolphins secretary is only a recent addition to the club’s committee, having joined the club in 2020 when her son transferred over from Palm Beach. Bradshaw oversees multiple projects, including helping out with the club operations, finances, registrations and serving as first point of contact for inquiries. Bradshaw’s push for more women on the club’s board has now seen five appointed, a number she hopes will continue to grow.
KAREN DENNY Tugun RLGC secretary
The matriarch of the Tugun Seahawks rugby league club, Denny has been a fixture on the sidelines of the Rugby League Gold Coast club since day one in 1978. The daughter of one of Tugun’s founding fathers, her formal role since 2004 has been the club’s secretary, problem solving for players and acting on the board of directors for the Leagues Club.
TAHNEE NORRIS Qld and Burleigh women’s coach
One of Australia’s greatest international players in her heyday, Norris remains a pioneer of women’s football on the Gold Coast and Queensland through her coaching. Norris has helped transform the Burleigh women’s team into a force on the Queensland state scene.
Her success made her the obvious candidate to take over the Maroons women earlier in 2021.
She has joined the foundation Titans NRLW team as assistant coach to Jamie Feeney.
LINDA SAUNDERS Rugby League Gold Coast club co-ordinator
a key player in determining and enforcing policies and procedures as well as the season draw.
For the last two years Saunders has also served as co-ordinator for the
SEQ women’s competition which spans Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast.
“I have a real passion in that space so it’s been really good to watch that competition grow form strength to strength,” she said.
“I think a girls competition on the Gold Coast is a real goal for building strength in SEQ.
“The stronger each region gets we hope they will branch out and run their own local club competition too which will be great.”
KRISTY SMITH GCDRU senior co-ordinator
Smith’s outstanding contribution to Gold Coast rugby union were recognised in 2019 when the Palm Beach Currumbin volunteer became the first woman to join the district’s board, alongside Vanessa Reweti.
Smith manages the senior competition, determining scheduling and liaising with club presidents to solve issues as they arise.
CAROL DIAMOND Runaway Bay senior secretary
Diamond has been a sideline figure at Runaway Bay Rugby League Club for close to 40 years, with 30 of those as a member of the club’s board.
She has served as club secretary of both the junior and senior programs as well the Runaway Bay Leagues Club.
Diamond’s association began when her sons played and has outlasted their playing careers, with her grandchildren now following in their footsteps.
Club president Graham Gleeson said Diamond was the driver that kept the club functioning, handling all correspondence with the league.
JENNY PECK
Chair of the RLGC women’s participation sub-committee
Peck is a veteran of rugby league administration on the Coast with roles stretching back 18 years.
The former RLGC secretary and Currumbin Eagles chairman Gold Coast doctor is a hero on both fronts.
The carrot of playing alongside an international of her class has drawn plenty of talent towards the Gold Coast Dolphins over the years.
Her impact is felt at the club even beyond the oval with a seat on the board.
MILLIE BOYLE NRLW player
Boyle’s incredible success in the NRLW and Jillaroos in rugby league and the Wallaroos in rugby union mark her a clear standout among the Gold Coast’s most influential athletes.
She was a finalist for the region’s athlete of the year in 2020.
KATE ANSON Stingrays secretary
The newly appointed secretary of the Gold Coast Stingrays gridiron club has a mammoth task at hand to return the club to it’s glory days of the 90s and early 2000s.
Anson oversees the entire management structure of the club to ensure compliance with Queensland Gridiron rules.
REBECCA FRIZELLE Gold Coast Titans owner
The Gold Coast automotive magnate helped save the Gold Coast Titans from extinction in 2017 by forming a consortium with Darryl Kelly to purchase the club.
The Titans long-awaited move into the NRLW competition was driven by Frizelle’s passion for rugby league and she continues to be the city’s most powerful woman in both sport and business, leading the way in two male-dominated industries.
KATIE PAGE Magic Millions owner
From the time Katie Page opened her first Harvey Norman store on the Gold Coast in the 1980s (in response to Page’s Gc-based sisters’ demands to be able to go shopping), she has made the city her second home. The Magic Millions racing carnival and horse sale has become a permanent fixture in January and it continues to grow each year.
advice on all things sport and event planning by the city’s biggest figures.
FIONA SESSARAGO Suns AFLW football manager
Fiona Sessarago is the Suns Head of Women’s Football and leads the club’s brainstrust on all things AFLW. She got her first taste of AFL in her final year of university, helping out a friend by acting as a sports trainer for just a few games. From there she caught the bug. Sessarago started out as a player before moving into coaching and finally into administrative roles, helping nurture women’s AFL. Now she spends her days trying to deliver a premiership to the Gold Coast Suns while nuturing the top female talents coming through the club’s academy.
KIM SEYMOUR Hinterland District Netball
A woman who has been involved with the Hinterland & Districts Netball Assocation for 10 years and president for the past two. Prior to that Seymour spent time as the umpire coordinator for the association.
Delissa Kimmince
Seymour, now 49, started playing netball at the age of eight at Southport and went on to play for the U17 Queensland team under renowned international coach Vicki Wilson.
The HDNA has been on a growth trajectory of 20 per cent year-on-year since Seymour’s involvement.
SAM RILEY Suns board member
Gillian Heinrich
A two-time Olympian and current Gold Coast Suns boardmember, Riley not only knows how to succeed despite all the challenges an athlete faces but is also a successful business woman with multiple swim schools.
The Burleigh resident is a mother of three boys and has a big presence in the Gold Coast community.
Riley is part of the player development and welfare subcommittee at the Suns.
LESCHEN SMALLER Suns board member
A financial expert who is also part of the Gold Coast Suns board.
Smaller joined Gold Coast in 2019 as part of a complete board refresh. Smaller is the foundation director of Element Business & Accounting Solutions, working closely with clients in transport, hospitality, retail, health, professional services and property development.
SANDRA WALSH
North Gold Coast Netball treasurer
The treasurer of the North Gold Coast Netball Association has been a fixture of the organistion for decades.
Walsh has coached at club and
representative level and is one of the most dedicated volunteers in Gold Coast sport.
She coaches at Coomera Anglican College, does the draws for the NGCNA and gives up her Monday, Friday and Saturday nights through the season be at the courts in order to help in any capacity at a club that has over 1200 players.
ANNE CORNISH
Palm Beach Currumbin AFC president
The woman at the helm of one of the most successful sports clubs on the Gold Coast.
The Palm Beach Currumbin AFC president is a respected figure who gets things done.
Cornish has been in the top job since 2017, taking over from Glenn Spencer after six years as secretary.
She is a previous winner of AFLQ’S volunteer of the year award and has acted as a director on the Palm Beach Currumbin sports club board and treats all the players as if they were her own children.
Cornish has hosted a lot of interstate players to get them a start in Queensland, including some from the Solomon Islands who were on the Gold Coast for six months as part of an AFL program.