GO OPALS!

MEMBERS STATEMENTS - HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker Claydon, for signing up to the parliamentary friendship group for women's sport this week. And thank you to all members in the House doing the same for the soon-to-be Parliamentary Friends of Women in Sport.

I rise today to celebrate our great Opals, who have gone through the qualifiers and will play in the quarterfinals tomorrow night against Belgium. What a team! It is something for all Australians to be proud of. I know that everyone in this House will wish them well in their campaign. And there's an important piece here: I want to wish the coach, Sandy Brondello, all the best for this campaign and I want to wish the captain, Tess Madgen, from the Barossa, who has played 65 games for the Opals since 2011, all the best. But most importantly, I know, for those of us who played basketball with Sandy and Lauren Jackson last year, I want to wish the GOAT all the best on her return to the Opals. Good luck, Opals! Do us proud. Bring it home for Australia. This parliament sits behind you.