If you want to crack elite netball, the Australian National Netball Championships is a pretty good place to make your mark.
Every year the nation’s best young netballers fight it out in a week of intense state-against-state rivalry. They've already survived a gruelling selection process to win themselves a spot in a squad. The games are seriously intense.
Every player knows scouts are watching closely.
Places in State League programs aren’t just given away and there’s only ever a handful of spots available on Suncorp Super Netball rosters each year.
Do well at Nationals and you give yourself as good a chance at higher honours as you're probably going to get.
Historically, the week-long tournament has been something of a plaything for the heavyweight netball states - New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Queensland always fights hard, but medals have been few and far between.
That’s why the Maroons’ 2023 17U campaign garnered so much interest.
Coached by Bond Bull Sharks head coach Bec Stower, they were undefeated after the preliminary rounds and entered their semi-final a warm favourite against fourth-placed Western Australia.
And with a six-goal lead at the end of the third quarter, it’s fair to say things were going perfectly to plan.
But in the final term WA went berserk and Queensland froze.
In what seemed an instant, the Sandgropers had outscored the Queenslanders 11-4. WA hit the lead for the first time all game with only seconds left on the clock.
Enter Bond University’s newest netball recruit, Kirra Tappenden.
The Sunshine Coast-raised Goal Attack drew a contact penalty during Queensland's last desperate foray forward. The siren sounded with Tappenden contemplating a shot from wide range to level the scores.
She blocked out the noise, took a deep breath, and drained the longest of long bombs to force a draw and push things into extra time.
Queensland went on to the win not just the game but also the tournament when they knocked off NSW in another thriller the next day to earn just their fourth Championship victory in 40 years of trying.
Coach Stower knew she’d witnessed something special when Tappenden's match-winner dropped.
“Kirra’s a total ice queen,” she says.
“Not everyone can do what she did in that moment.”
Unsurprisingly, Stower was delighted to learn the 18-year-old accepted a scholarship to Bond University. Tappenden will line up for the Bull Sharks while she completes a Bachelor of Psychology.
“Kirra’s extremely coachable and a really hard worker who has a genuinely great attitude,” she says.
“She’s a happy person and someone people gravitate towards. She’s very caring about her teammates too.”
Tappenden has enjoyed an incredible few weeks.
First came news that she’d once again made the cut for the Queensland 19U National Championships Squad.
Soon after she learned of her selection as a Training Partner for the Queensland Firebirds.
“I was with friends at the beach and I had a call from (new Firebirds coach) Kiri Wills and she offered me the spot,” she says.
“When the friends I was with found out they were jumping on me and screaming. I just started crying!”
Given all this has played out during her final moments at Matthew Flinders Anglican College, little wonder she was leaking a few tears.
Still, Tappenden is doing her best to take it all in her stride.
When it comes to her move to Bond University and the Bull Sharks, a bit of familiarity will help.
Not only does she enjoy a tight player-coach relationship with Stower, but she’s already shared the court with many of the players who currently call Bond home - Sasha-May Flegler, Jayden Molo, and Kaylin van Greunen among them.
That van Greunen also studies at Bond is a bonus.
“Making the move would have been a bit daunting if I didn’t know anyone, but I’ve always got along really well with the Bull Sharks girls and I love how Bec (Stower) teaches the game,” she says.
“I feel like I've improved a lot as a player the past two years under Bec’s watch and it's definitely helped grow my confidence. So that was a big part of my decision.”
Tappenden will start her degree in January.
“I'm really interested in human behaviour and how the brain works,” she says.
“My mum’s a psychiatrist and the stories she comes home with really interest me. I want to follow her down that path.”
She says she won’t rush her move south.
There's still a few school exams to sit. Then there’ll be graduation celebrations.
And given the closeness of the Tappenden clan, no doubt there’ll be a bit of time at the family’s Bribie Island home before her bags are packed.
“My sister left to follow her passion as soon as she finished school too. My parents are probably thinking ‘Oh no, it's like Clare all over again!’,” she says.
“But they're just so supportive of me. They always have been. We’re all very close. They helped me think about all the different pros and cons. They know how much I love the Gold Coast, and they know I'll thrive here.”