This just in!
Three Canberra paintballers have earned selection in an Australian squad to play a test match against a New Zealand team in Sydney on Friday 17 May. This international match is a first for the sport in Australia.
David Turner and Mark McElligott from Canberra’s Uprising and Mitch Hackett who plays for Sydney team Shenanigans, will join 11 other players from Sydney and the Central Coast, Brisbane and Adelaide in a 14 man squad which will take part in the match at Sydney’s Action Paintball Games the day prior to Round 2 of the Australian Super 7s Tournament series in mid-May. A return match in Auckland in late August has also been discussed as a possibility.
The three had been team mates with Uprising over the last 5 years during which time the team progressed from Division 3 to Division 1 where their best result has been 2nd place in Round 3 of the 2012 Super 7s series. Hackett moved to Shenanigans this year after the team stepped up from Division 2. The teams have a long history of friendly rivalry with Shenanigans most recently edging out Uprising for 3rd place In Round 1 of the Super 7s in February this year.
All three have previously played for the ACT in the Super 7s annual State of Origin series, which like the coming international, follows a 10 man format. They are looking forward to playing with a number of players that til now have been opponents and to the hectic pace of the 10 man game. They hope that this match will be the start of an increased profile for the sport on both sides of the Tasman.
The result of the test match and of the Super 7s event on 18/19 May can be followed up at either
https://www.facebook.com/super7spaintball?fref=ts or http://www.super7spaintball.com.Picture attached – L to R – David Turner, Mitch Hackett, Mark McElligott
Photo credit – Bunkered! Photography
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