Geraldton’s Jy Thurstun and Liam Meharry make leap into national softball elite development sqaud

Geraldton might be known for its footy talent more than anything, but we continually punch above our weight across the sporting spectrum, with the latest example being two local softballers on the national radar. Last week Jy Thurstun and Liam Meharry were selected in Softball Australia’s men’s national elite player development squad in what could be a pathway to Olympic representation. The squad was selected on the back of performances in national championships and Meharry and Thurstun were two of just six WA members included in the 53-strong squad. The 18-year-olds have both represented multiple times at the State level, most recently competing at the national championships in Perth, but this is the first national selection. Thurstun said the selection came out of the blue for him. “It feels pretty good especially coming from here and doing it with my best mate that’s one of the best things about it,” he said. “Knowing Liam, he’s pretty good so I expected him to make it at a good level but mine was out of the blue, I’ve obviously worked to try and get into them but feels great.” Meharry agreed with the sentiment saying it was good to get Gero on the map. “It feels pretty good to have that hard work pay off and to do it with Jy is even better,” he said. “You don’t often see Gero kids go that far, so from that aspect it was surprising to get picked up.” Thurstun believes Geraldton was one of the strongest places in the State for softball talent. “When you go down to play in national tournaments or whatever you definitely see kids’ names from here pop-up more often than other city kids,” he said. “I dunno if it’s what we drink here but you definitely seem to get more out of country kids compared to the city ones.” Meharry recently returned from helping coach the Batavia Blaze juniors to the Batcave junior softball title and said Geraldton was definitely underestimated. “Perth all underestimate us and don’t expect much out of us cause we’re from Gero,” he said. “But we’ve got a fair few at the State and now national representatives and it’s only getting better.” Softball returned to the Olympic program in Tokyo and while not a part of the Paris program could see a return in 2028 in Los Angeles but for Meharry and Thurstun the focus, for now, was on winning the next game. “I feel like this is a long time coming we both felt we would end up on a team together in the green-and-gold, and to get in together we’ll get the most out of each other like we always have,” Thurstun said. “But the goal is always just to win so I’m just gonna take it step by step and go with the flow.” Meharry added: “To put the green-and-gold on would be quite an achievement so we’ll take what they give us and use it to our advantage.” The only hurdle to the green-and-gold plan is Thurstun’s love for footy with the Rovers star not committing to one sport or the other just yet. “I plan to move soon so I’ve definitely still got both tossing up but for as long as I can I’ll keep both going,” he said. “He’d rather play footy,” Meharry replied tongue firmly in cheek. Both will be in action on Friday night as they hope to help Suiside secure second place and go for a three-peat of softball titles.