We hear stories all the time about parents going above and beyond to give their children the best possible chance to live out their sporting dreams.
The father of Sydney Thunder all-rounder Anika Learoyd is just another example of parents going to extreme lengths to assist their child’s sporting journey.
“I’m actually from the north coast, near Coffs Harbour, and I remember my Dad used to drive me six hours each way to Grade cricket every weekend,” the now 22-year-old told the Weekender.
The hundreds of kilometres there and back every single week throughout the hot summers well and truly paid dividends for Learoyd, who is now playing professional sport for not only the Sydney Thunder in the WBBL, but also the NSW Breakers in the Women’s National Cricket League.
“I performed well in Grade cricket with Northern District and earnt myself some offers,” she said.
“I had a couple of offers from a few different clubs but, in the end, it was my housemate Hannah Darlington who gave me a call out of the blue and talked me into signing with the Thunder.”
Learoyd and Darlington, a former captain of the Thunder and St Clair Hawks junior, lived together for a whopping four years until Learoyd moved out just last weekend with her partner.
“I actually moved out yesterday,” Learoyd revealed on Monday.
“Hannah and I lived together for four years, so we’re close. I moved out with my partner to Terrey Hills. Hannah was sad I was leaving, but we’re definitely going to stay close.”
While the pair will no longer share a kitchen and bathroom anymore, they will remain teammates on a Thunder side keen on proving the doubters wrong.
After finishing fourth last season, the Thunder exited last year’s playoffs with an Elimination Final loss to eventual runners-up the Brisbane Heat.
Learoyd said the Thunder are hungrier than ever to prove a point this season as the new campaign looms.
“I think we’ve done really well to keep together a core group of players,” she said.
“Seeing the calibre of domestic players we have within the squad, we were all very disappointed being knocked out in the semis last year, but I think that fuels a little bit of extra hunger.
“I’m really excited to see what happens when we play with that bit of hunger and with the talent that we’ve got in this squad. I think we’re going to be quite dangerous.”
The Thunder will kick off their 2024 WBBL campaign on the road when they play the Hobart Hurricanes this Monday night in Tassie.
The upcoming season will also be reduced from 14 games to just 10, making every game – and win – crucial.
“It’s such an exciting time and we see each year that the WBBL grows, the standard lifts, and the crowd numbers increase,” Learoyd said.
“This season is another exciting one and it’s WBBL|10, how cool is that? To think a couple of years ago we were really struggling to get numbers to games and now, all of a sudden, we’ve got some marquee games at the SCG and MCG.
“As a whole, Sydney Thunder is shaping up really well, so I’m really excited to see what this team can pull out in 10 games.”
Nathan Taylor
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.