Bull Shark Eva Doblo lives her life in top gear, racking up sporting milestones at the same pace that she flies past opponents on the rugby field.
The Gold Coast girl has only been playing rugby for 12 months and she’s already a premiership player following the Bull Sharks’ 2024 title win against Easts.
That eye-catching performance earned her a Sports Leadership scholarship, and she has now joined Bond University to study a Bachelor of Sports Management.
While the 20-year-old attacked university life with the same enthusiasm she brings to everything, she had to wait to pull on the Bull Sharks jersey as a student.
A broken knuckle kept her on the sidelines for three months and cost her a spot on the Bull Sharks’ trip to Japan, but on her return she showed that time hadn’t been wasted.
It was Doblo’s pace and the footwork crafted from a lifetime in Oztag that originally caught the eye of Bull Sharks coach Lawrence Faifua, but in last weekend’s game against UQ it was her new approach to defence.
“Eva has done some great work on her defence. In her first game for the year the first couple of tackles were a bit off but she settled in and defended really well," he said.
“We are trying to build her experience by giving her big minutes, just so she can understand the shape and game plan. Once she gets that under her belt and understands her role, she will be a very good player because she has excellent footwork and can put people into space.”
Doblo’s first game back this season saw the Bull Sharks go down 26-15 in the battle of the universities as they took on UQ, however a redeeming 82-point win over the South Magpies on the weekend showed why the Bull Sharks are the ones to beat.
Doblo grew up playing Oztag and earned representative honours with the women’s Tagaroos team - Australia’s top-level Oztag side - before taking up rugby last year.
“Oztag is quite seasonal and you really can’t go far whereas in rugby there are so many opportunities,” she said.
It wasn’t until she got a call-up from Bond Pirates to fill in for a game at the start of the 2024 season that her rugby career set alight.
“I got a call-up for Bond Pirates and then the Bull Sharks and the rest is history, I guess,” she said.
Playing alongside Reds player Zoe Hanna and Gold Coast Titans player Georgia Grey has fast-tracked Doblo’s development.
“I love the team and the physical aspect of rugby. I get to play with so many girls who have such good knowledge of the game and set such a high benchmark,” she said.
“I’m quite new to rugby so as I gain more knowledge of the game, that's when I will aspire to go for that higher level like the Reds.”