By Grace Knight
The Bond University Wheelchair Rugby team finds itself second on the ladder after a strong showing in round two of the Wheelchair Rugby Australia National League at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena on the weekend.
The Bull Sharks dropped just one game across the three-day tournament and coach Ben Newton said he was thrilled by his players’ continued improvement.
“I was really happy with how the team played together this round,” he said.
“All of our wins were pretty comfortable, and we were able to apply a lot more defensive pressure and really make the opposition teams work hard for their scores against us.”
Dynamic duo Brayden Foxley-Connolly and Ella Sabljak worked remarkably well together this round showing exceptional court vision, goal scoring capability, and tactical use of space.
“Though they have only played together for a really short period of time, Brayden and Ella have gelled together really well in their plays and in getting a lot of breakaway scores,” Newton said.
“Brayden is super new to the sport and has such a bright future ahead of him.
“And Ella, being such an accomplished multi-sport athlete, has a great deal of experience to share with him, so it’s really exciting to watch the two of them in action.”
The Bull Sharks are currently sitting in second place on the ladder with the third and final round of competition remaining in the 2023 national league season. It takes place in Sydney later this month.
In meantime, Bond’s wheelchair rugby athletes are looking forward to a Paralympic qualifying tournament in Tokyo in June where selection for the Paris 2024 Paralympic games is up for grabs.
Newton said a number of Bond athletes will be on the selectors' radar.
“I think our team is looking really promising heading into not only the final round of competition but also qualification for the Paralympics,” he said.
“I think there’s definitely at least three of our players who are in with a strong chance of being selected so I’m really excited for them.”