Schnaubelt making her mark

TALENTED athlete and Oil Search Papua New Guinea Orchids back Gemma Schnaubelt has been making her mark in rugby league in recent seasons.
After claiming the player of the match honours in the South East Queensland women’s division one grand final last season with the West Brisbane Panthers, Schnaubelt has also taken part in a number of representative opportunities, playing for the Orchids last season and also being selected in the Queensland female performance programme squad.
Schnaubelt played as fullback for the Panthers in their first BHP Premiership game in round one this year but with the competition called off for the year, she took the time to share a bit more about herself.

Does anyone else in your family play? Who and with which team?
Dad didn’t play footy growing up. He was playing a lot of golf and was into karate in his days and mum was a sprinter and netballer growing up. I only have sisters and they’re all like mum and are into netball as well. I do have an uncle, Ryan Tongia, who was with the Gold Coast Titans – not in first grade, but he played in the Toyota Cup a few years back before moving to New Zealand and switching to rugby union. He did, however, also represent the PNG Kumuls in 2010 in the Four Nations tournament.
I also have a younger cousin, Liam Horne, with the North Devils in the Queensland Intrust Super Cup competition. This year was going to be a big one for him, I know he definitely wants to also represent the PNG Kumuls sometime in the near future, so I was really excited to see him kill this season. Other than that, a lot of my family play other sport not so much footy, but they are mad rugby league supporters.

Favourite footy memory?
The England-Orchids test match in Port Moresby is definitely my favourite memory yet. I got the call-up for the squad a few weeks after winning the competition with the West Brisbane Panthers for the Rugby League World Cup Nines. However, I was injured so that ruled me out of the October tournament. But I was back on my feet in time for the Test matches in Goroka and Port Moresby in November.
Winning the second Test match was special. Not only did I get the opportunity to represent my heritage on home soil and in front of my family, but I was also a part of the squad that made history that day by winning our first game for the Orchids. A lot of emotions were shown that day. It was a really special moment for everyone who had been involved with the Orchids for the last two years, so it’s definitely a memory I’ll never forget.

Fashion – what’s the most worn item in your wardrobe?
Scrunchies (hairband). I love having my scrunchies match my day-to-day outfits.

Fitness tips? Any favourite exercises/tips for staying motivated?
For me, I like having a partner to train with so that I always have somebody who pushes me to my limits. My favourite exercises probably include high-intensity training and a lot of upper-body training. I’m pretty small so I like to make sure my upper body is strong so I can tackle all the big and stronger girls out on the field.
I guess my tips for staying motivated are just setting goals you want to achieve and personally, I like to surround myself with people who make me want to be better than I was yesterday and work hard towards my goals, especially during these times. I’m lucky, my mum pushes me to stay on my feet every day, even if it’s a walk around the block.

Is there anything you are studying, reading, watching now that you are spending more time at home?
For me, I’ve been using my time by spending most of it being around my younger siblings a lot more. I was playing rugby sevens with the PNG Palais for the last two years and was travelling a lot out of the country, going on tours around the world and a lot of the time was also travelling back-and-forth to PNG for training camps.
So now that I’m home and not really travelling, I definitely have had more time to watch movies and be around them, whether it’s helping them with school work and just spending more quality time, rather than training 24/7 or being out of the country a lot. Otherwise, I’ve picked up a new hobby and go fishing with my family, and I finally started reading a few books I received as gifts. Mum and I have challenged ourselves going on the ketogenic diet too.
– QRL