Current tertiary students are being urged to apply for the Women’s and Men’s Queensland Universities teams that will travel to Sydney to play NSW Universities in May.
History will be made in 2025 when the interstate universities tradition continues with the first ever match between the two state female teams at North Sydney Oval on Sunday May 18.
The men’s match has been contested since the 1970s, with NRL players of the calibre of Lote Tuqiri, Darren Smith, Adam Mogg and Mark Tookey previously representing the Queensland Universities team.
But after the inaugural Queensland Universities Women’s team played an exhibition against a PNG representative side last year, this time they will play in a fully-fledged interstate battle.
It will be followed by the match between the men’s teams, with both acting as curtain raisers for a NSW Cup clash between the North Sydney Bears and St George Illawarra Dragons.
Plans for an Australian tour to the Pacific Islands later this year are being formulated.
Players can qualify for the Queensland Universities teams through two main avenues:
- Be currently enrolled and undertaking a University or Tertiary program that is a minimum diploma level course and be able to supply a relevant student number.
- Be currently enrolled and undertaking a certificate course, and be able to demonstrate it leads directly to higher study (example - be credited towards a Diploma or Degree course). If the player is aiming to qualify through a certificate course, they must demonstrate they have completed a minimum six months of study in that course, be currently enrolled and supply a relevant student number.
The women’s team will again be coached by Zeke Field, while former Queensland Universities player Jody Barlow will lead the men’s team.
Players will need to commit to a training camp that will be held in the Greater Brisbane area from Thursday May 14 until Sunday May 18 and be required to cover a subsidised levy to help cover the cost of the camp, with all playing kit, meals and accommodation included.
The team will fly to Sydney on Saturday May 17 and return on the Sunday night after the matches.
Interested parties are asked to fill out the application form, with submissions to close on Saturday April 12.
Queensland Universities Women’s Team Applications: https://forms.office.com/r/HWbE7haQ4T
Queensland Universities Men’s Team Applications: https://forms.office.com/r/yCSiy2APQC
