Queensland Representative School Sport is proud of our people. From students to teachers to referees and umpires as well as volunteers it takes a community to lead our program.
QRSS is proud to highlight the journeys of some of our people to showcase the positive impact our representative school sport program has on individuals in their own way.
Rhani Hagan - touch football, rugby league and rugby 7s
Rhani Hagan, representing the Quandamooka, Kullilli, and Turrbal peoples, has been an active contributor to school sports, excelling in athletics, touch football, rugby league, and rugby 7s during her time at St Francis Xavier School Goodna and St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School in the Metropolitan West region. Rhani has been selected for Queensland and Australia’s national teams in both touch football and rugby 7s within the school sport program. Her talent and dedication have led her to international competition; she represented Australia in rugby 7s at the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games, where she secured a gold medal. Looking ahead, she aspires to join the Australian women’s rugby 7s team for the Olympics.
Kobi Walker - cross country and track and field
Kobi Walker, a talented long-distance runner from Moreton Bay College in the Metropolitan East region, has represented her school, region, and state in cross country and track and field. If you’d asked her five years ago if she’d ever be heading to the United States on a college scholarship, she wouldn’t have believed it. Now, she's thrilled to announce her commitment to join the Mizzou Tigers at the University of Missouri. In recent years, Kobi has focused on school sports, working hard to improve her results and recently winning gold in the 1500m and 5000m state championships. Outside of athletics, she runs Foodie Spread, a catering and grazing platter business, and recently launched Kobi's Kitchen, offering healthy meal sachets. She’s passionate about making healthy eating and a balanced lifestyle accessible and enjoyable.
Deanna Turner grew up in Mirani, in QRSS’ Central Queensland region, playing netball. She represented her school and the small town of Mirani, outside of Mackay in multiple sports. She participated in state and national netball championships and went on to play for the Queensland Firebirds. A few of her friends asked her to try rugby league where she went on to play for her state and nation as well. Sport has provided her with plenty of opportunities to grow as an athlete, person and now coach. She is currently the QRSS 18 years girls Queensland coach and invests her time for students providing them with a genuine pathway to access various sports.
Alexa Leary was a promising triathlete. She competed in a wide range of sports which ultimately helped her concentrate in the classroom. She went onto compete for Queensland at the School Sport Australia National Championships in triathlon and in year 12 was selected to compete for Australia on the international stage.
Unfortunately, whilst training, she was involved in a horrific accident. She was told she would never walk or talk again, let alone compete in sport. Recently, after 2 years of rehabilitation, she competed on the international stage again as a para swimmer in the S9 category. Alexa has one of Australia’s worst cases of traumatic brain injury and faces uphill battles every day, where she draws on the skills QRSS gave her, to continue pursuing her Olympic dream. She was recently awarded the 2023 AIS Discovery Athlete of the Year.
Jaspa Fletcher is a current Brisbane Lions grand finalist, who made his debut in 2023. He is a product of the Queensland academy pathway having also come through the Queensland Representative School Sport program as a junior. Competing at QRSS district, regional, state and national championships Jaspa had an outstanding 2022 campaign at under-18 level. This resulted in him being selected by the Brisbane Lions via its academy with pick 12 at the 2022 NAB AFL Draft.