Laura Geitz was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2025 as an Athlete Member for her contribution to the sport of Netball
One of Australian netball’s greatest players and most respected leaders, Laura Geitz shone brightly in a glittering decade with the Queensland Firebirds and Australian Diamonds.
Hailing from the small Darling Downs town of Allora in Queensland’s south-east, Geitz graduated to national and international arenas where her tenacity, game-changing intercepts, calmness under pressure and resolute leadership saw her excel at the elite level.
She represented the Queensland Firebirds in 169 games, debuting in 2008, and playing a significant role as a dominant player and inspirational captain in three championship-winning seasons: in 2011, and back-to-back successes in 2015 and 2016.
Geitz was named the Liz Ellis Diamond Award winner in 2011 (the first of those triumphant seasons) as Australian netball’s best player.
She won the ANZ Championship Player of the Year Award in 2011 and 2014. But it was the dominant imprint she made when representing Australia in 71 games where she arguably made her greatest impact on and off the court.
She was a member of two Netball World Cup-winning teams in 2011 and 2015, the latter as the Diamonds captain in a home country triumph in Sydney. She led Australia to Commonwealth Games glory in Glasgow in 2014 and was part of silver medal-winning sides at the 2010 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
If the indelible mark of a champion is an ability to rise above adversity, as well as to guide others in the pursuit of success, netball great Laura Geitz undoubtedly fits the bill.
The Queensland Firebirds and Australian Diamonds defender faced more than her fair share of challenges before and during her decade at the top. But she conquered each one to become not only one of netball’s most influential players, but one of our most successful captains.
Geitz was bullied about her height as a young kid before her father urged her to “stand tall”. It was a lesson she relished, having fallen in love with netball after being inspired by her sister’s purple runners, and then encouraged by family and teachers to take the game on.
“Because I was a lot taller than most of the other girls, and even the other blokes in my grade, I did cop a bit of bullying,” Geitz told The Courier-Mail in 2013.
“I had braces and was about as tall as I am now. I definitely did cop a bit of flak in my high school years.
“My family taught me to just be proud of who you are and what you’ve got. I remember my dad (Ross) would always say to me, ‘You’ll be happy one day that you’ve got the height, so always stand tall and keep your shoulders back’.
“I’m very happy that I’m this tall playing the sport that I am, and I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
Geitz followed her dad’s advice and stood tall in 169 games for the Queensland Firebirds and 71 matches for the Australian Diamonds.
Her dominant defensive qualities, composure under pressure and team-lifting leadership proved to be an inspiration to those she played with at the Firebirds and the Diamonds, and to the next generation of young netballers daring to dream.
Geitz’s father once predicted his then 13-year-old daughter would play for Queensland. Years later he told her mother, Juanita, that she would one day captain the Diamonds. Tragically, he wouldn’t be there to see that happen. He was killed in an accident on the family farm in 2013, a heartbreaking moment which almost ended Laura’s career.
At the time she told her mother she wouldn’t play again, such was her grief. But Juanita urged her to reconsider, and she did, returning to the game she loved with a steely determination and a commitment to keep doing her father proud.
“I realise that decision (to keep playing) was the right one – dad would have wanted me to do that,” she said. “I feel like he is always there.”
Her elevation to the Australian captaincy came in the same year as her father’s death, with Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander offering her the role in an emotional meeting. She owed it to father to take it on, saying later: “Dad always said, ‘If you get the chance to lead your state or country, take it with both hands’.”
Having previously been the Firebirds captain, she led them to national titles in 2015 and 2016. She also shone as the Diamonds captain, with Alexander calling her “a humble and brilliant leader”, helping her team secure the gold medal at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, while also adding the 2015 World Cup gold medal as skipper, having been part of their 2011 success as a player.
Alexander added: “Her record speaks for itself with the Australian team and also in the National League arena, where she brought enormous success to the Queensland Firebirds (three championships). Her leadership at the 2015 World Cup was beyond expectation.”
She took a break from netball in 2017 when she was pregnant with her first child, but the lure of playing a hometown Commonwealth Games tournament on the Gold Coast a year later was always likely to be her finale.
The ultimate professional, as her coach called her, Geitz threw everything at her return in the chase for another gold medal, but the Diamonds came agonisingly close to what would have been a fitting farewell. With scores level ahead of the last play and less than 15 seconds remaining, the English team got the gold medal-winning goal just before the buzzer, leaving the Australians heartbroken.
But the sportsmanship shown after the game, as the teams locked arms on the court, summed up so much about Geitz’s leadership and the respect of the players.
As she said when she retired later that year, aged 30: “I did know, actually, when I walked off the (Gold Coast) court that that was probably the last time I would wear green and gold.
“And whilst it wasn’t the result that we would have loved, playing in front of my family and friends and in my home state and having my little boy (Barney) in the crowd was very fitting for me and something that I’ll treasure forever.”
Laura Geitz’s impact on the sport went well beyond the court, with the Queensland Government commissioning a statue of her, which now stands outside the State Netball Centre as a lasting tribute to her contribution to the game.
Honours & Achievements
- 2011: Won the Liz Ellis Diamond
- 2017: unveiled a bronze statue at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
- 2024: Inducted into the Netball Queensland Hall of Fame
Photo courtesy Alamy.
