LAURA GEITZ WILL RETURN TO NETBALL IN 2018, RE-SIGNING WITH THE QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS FOR THE UPCOMING SUNCORP SUPER NETBALL SEASON.
Geitz captained the club to three championships and five grand final appearances across a glittering career in the former Trans-Tasman league, before taking time out of the game following the birth of son Barney.
The 29-year-old is the final addition to the Firebirds’ 2018 roster following June’s squad announcement.
Geitz said she was as motivated as ever to pull on the purple dress and chase further success with her beloved Firebirds.
“I’m forever in debt to the game. This is a comeback for the community of netball,” Geitz said.
“I missed being part of the Firebirds family and the wider community of the sport. I feel very lucky to have experienced what I have throughout my career. You ask yourself whether every box is ticked, but I’ve laid down a challenge to myself.
“I want to come back and aim to be as good as I was when I exited the sport, if not better. I look at the likes of Geva Mentor who has had an outstanding season, Bec Bulley who is 35 – it’s the challenge that excites me.”
Geitz said plans of a comeback first crossed her mind when she settled into her seats for the Firebirds’ opening Suncorp Super Netball clash with Sunshine Coast Lightning.
“I remember walking in with Clare (McMeniman) and my Mum before round one, heading down to our seats courtside and seeing Diddy (Romelda Aiken) warming up,” she said.
“I just started crying. I blamed it on the hormones of being pregnant, but it was so surreal.
“My little family was out there and I wasn’t there with them. It was at that time I thought maybe I’m not done yet and if I’m feeling this way then maybe I haven’t exhausted all of my love for the game.”
Geitz praised the league’s ground-breaking collective bargaining agreement for allowing her to get back on court and balance motherhood with her passion for the game.
“I have the opportunity to do what I love and have Barney come along for the ride,” she said.
“Even though he’s too young to understand, when he gets older it’s important to me for him to know his mother had goals and aspirations of her own and I was driven to have another crack.”
Original story: Queensland Firebirds
