Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

They were the eventual premiers. But can I say that the way the women play the game is as close as you will see to real sport. The Townsville Fire are ferocious at the ball. Micaela Cocks although a 'dirty Kiwi'—that is an in-joke in Townsville—was just spectacular. Shanavia Dowdell was our MVP for the season and has dominated the season. I was lucky enough to do the auction where we raised lots of money for the players going through.

The one thing I would like to say about the Fire is that they do concentrate on the local talent. We have Nadeen Payne who is an 18-year-old local talent and the Froling twins who are only 15 going on 16 years old. One of the twins made their debut in the Women's NBL this year. It is a true credit to the local basketball fraternity to be able to bring this talent through. Both Froling twins have just been selected in the Australian under-19 side. It is a truly wonderful thing for Townsville.

The ABC should be castigated for not coming to Townsville to broadcast these games regularly. The Fire are a fantastic team and we have a great stadium. We have great support in Townsville and the ABC should get on board and base some people up there to make sure that we do get these things brought to bear.

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