Jessica Eyres could only watch on when the Bull Sharks took on Southport-Carrara at Runaway Bay Indoor Sports Centre back in round 7.
The 22-year-old goal shooter was still sidelined with an ACL injury as Bond University’s student-only Elite Premier League team faced the heavy competition favourite.
Still, playing or not, it was the game Eyres would later point to as a defining moment in her time as a Bull Shark.
“It was kind of like we’d won a grand final,” she says.
“We were just very stoked with our efforts.
“It was a special feeling.”
Now, in addition to taking on a Master of Occupational Therapy having already completed a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science, Eyres is continuing to compete in elite netball alongside postgraduate study.
This weekend she’ll line up for Bond in two semi-finals - one for Bond University Open Elite Premier League women’s team, and the other as part Bond’s Open Mixed side.
Both teams are fresh additions to Bull Sharks netball this year.
Eyres says time on the court has always been a welcome escape from the books.
“I’ve always loved netball for as long as I can remember,” she says.
“It’s brought me so much joy over the years.”
“I really enjoy getting a break from studying to go to training, I actually quite look forward to those times during the week,” she says. “It’s helped me manage my coursework because I have to be organised.”
Netball Operations Manager Kim Boland said the teams were created to build a bridge between Bond’s club sport and its higher-level league programs.
“There was always this big gap between the two,” Boland says.
The new student teams give athletes a chance to progress through the Bond talent development pathway.
And it’s working with players already making the step from the student EPL side into higher-level competition.
“We’ve got the ability to see these students play whatever level they’re at,” she says.
And we’ve got a level for any type of athlete.”
The support extends beyond sport, too.
“The program helps student athletes work around training through timetabling support,” Boland says.
“We’ve got the physios, we’ve got the dietetics, we’ve got everything that can make them a whole athlete as well as a student.”
For her, it is the combination of academic and sporting support that sets Bond apart.
“How many universities actually offer and support that like we do?” she says.
Boland points to Bond University law student Brock Adaway as an example of that flexibility in action.
Adaway, 20, plays AFL for the Bull Sharks while competing in the M-League men’s competition and the student Elite Premier League mixed team, where he has established himself at the highest level of student competition.
To add to his sporting resume, he also serves as president of the university’s Netball Club and has represented the Queensland Suns.
He says for him supplementing his study with sport is critical.
“I think if I didn’t play any sport, I’d be pretty bored!” he says.
“I enjoy being able to put away the stress of my degree and put my mind to something else.”
“The biggest thing I’ve taken from my place here is probably the support and the flexibility at Bond.
“Coming from Cairns and travelling for representative sport has been expensive.
“It’s taught me to take opportunities when they come up.”
He says the shared experience element is also important.
“Our student EPL team is really close, I like that we’re the same age and that they’re also navigating university too,” he says.
“And look, when I’m playing my best is when I’m having fun.”
For Eyres, it is the friendships made along the way that she hopes will last beyond Bond.
“I think I’ll be friends with some of these girls probably for the rest of my life. They’re the kind of people I’ll look back on and remember all the fun times we’ve had, whether it be playing through the year or at Nationals.”