In news that will have all Tasmanian fans excited, particularly those based in the north of the state, Greater Northern Raiders product Ava Curtis, and experienced wicket-keeper Emma Manix-Geeves have been signed to Tasmanian Tigers deals for the 2025-26 season.
Curtis, an all-rounder and current captain of the Greater Northern Raiders, has been awarded her first professional contract, having signed a Rookie deal with her home state.
She is delighted to have been rewarded with this deal.
“It was a bit of a shock when Jude called to let me know about the deal, which was around the same time as Abu Dhabi. It was really nice.”
“I am looking forward to honing down on those skills that you don’t get to work on, when you’re training only a couple of days a week after school, it’ll be nice to be able to train a lot more,” said Curtis.
Having dominated in the CTPL last summer, scoring 609 runs from her 18 innings for the Greater Northern Raiders with a top score of 115, along with 12 wickets with best figures of 5-11, Curtis is viewed as someone with a lot of talent.
An attacking right-handed bat and medium pace bowler, who also captained the Tasmanian Female U19 National Championship side last summer, the South Launceston product will aim to make her debut for her state in the 2025-26 season.
Curtis will be the first Tasmanian Tigers player to receive a ‘Rookie’ deal, considering the Rookie contract has only been brought into Domestic Women’s Cricket in the 2025-26 season.
Female Program Head Coach, Jude Coleman, looks forward to seeing Curtis be around professional cricket full time.
“We are super excited to give Ava an opportunity to join our female program, it is a terrific reward for her strong performances for the Greater Northern Raiders last season.
"She has been on our radar for some time, and it was great to be able to bring her into the fold for our recent trip to Abu Dhabi.
"An attacking batter, and someone who can bowl with decent pace, and at only 18 years of age, there is so much potential there, and I am confident we can harness that in our environment," said Coleman.
Manix-Geeves, who also hails from Launceston, debuted for the Tasmanian Tigers in the 2019-20 season and has played for Tasmania 55 times since her debut.
She was a major contributor to the three-peat Women’s National Cricket League titles for the Tigers in 2021-22, 22-23, and 23-24, with her century in the final of the first WNCL win living long in the folklore of Tasmanian cricket.
Manix-Geeves has scored 1118 runs at an average of 28.66, along with 51 dismissals in her time as Tasmania’s number one keeper.
Signing a one-year deal, Jude Coleman is eager to seeing what Manix-Geeves has in store this summer.
“EMG can play several different roles for us, and has done so over the past few seasons, always doing what she can to win games for our state.
“She works hard on improving her wicket-keeping, and her 360-degree scoring has been a great addition to her game.
“I look forward to seeing what she can do for us next summer!” said Coleman.
Joining new signings Courtney Sippel and Sara Kennedy, Curtis and Manix-Geeves provide a local angle to the Tasmanian Tigers Female Program re-signing period with further re-signings to be announced over the next few weeks.