Playing in the opens division at the national championships has been a goal of Brody Blackett-Gregg for some time, he just always thought he'd be wearing sky blue.
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Blackett-Gregg will make his opens debut at the Australian Men's Netball Championships for Queensland next week.
The Tamworth local was initially picked in the NSW opens team but a decision was made not to send NSW teams as almost half of their athletes and officials were unable to attend the championships.
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The opportunity to play for Queensland as an import player then arose and Blackett-Gregg grabbed it with both hands.
"It's a bit different and it wasn't the team I was expecting to do it with but it's given me the opportunity [to play]," Blackett-Gregg said of playing opens at nationals.
"I was disappointed our team wasn't going but if there was still an opportunity to go. I still wanted to because I didn't want to miss out two years in a row."
Blackett-Gregg won't be the only NSW player infiltrating the Queensland ranks.
Teammate Eugene Lee will also turn out for the Maroons.
Blackett-Gregg will have his first training run with Queensland the night before the championships start and said it would be "good to know someone there".
Lee has also been a big influence on Blackett-Gregg's career so far.
They play for the Sydney Uni Varsity Griffins together in division one of the M League after Lee approached Blackett-Gregg to play for the side.
"He's helped me a long with the way and helped me get the opportunity to go [and play with Queensland]," Blackett-Gregg said.
The goal shooter has worked hard over the past two years to get his chance in the opens.
The M League is played on a Monday and coupled with state duties, it makes for plenty of time on the road.
"It's always hard especially with work. Netball on a Monday night playing at 6 or 8, then in the car straight back home and then up first thing for work," Blackett-Gregg said.
"It's always hard with timing and stuff but it's what they've asked me to do to get better and get to the level they want me to be at to get picked in the top sides."
The Australian Championships will run from July 4 until July 10 in Adelaide.
Ben Jaffrey
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
Ben is a content curator and journalist for The Land. He has been with ACM since 2015 and first worked at The Area News and then at the Northern Daily Leader. Ben first joined ACM Agri as a digital journalist for all seven agricultural mastheads in 2022 before shifting to The Land full-time in 2023.
