Dubbo's Saxbii Shaw making waves in rugby league and netball

The 16-year-old has enjoyed a stellar year of rugby league and netball success, but her relaxed nature means she isn't getting too carried away about things.

When other promising young athletes are asked what their ultimate goal is, the reply is often around representing their country or reaching a certain level in their sport.

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That wasn't so much the case for Shaw who, while motivated for success, is enjoying seeing where her sport takes her.

"My ultimate goal? I'm not sure but probably just representing my culture in the sport I love," she said.

Shaw was also a talented touch football player but that sport has had to take a back seat in 2023 as her achievements in rugby league and netball have gone to another level.

There's been various school sides and carnivals she's appeared at, she's also represented the Goannas rugby league side and the Western Rams and she plays junior and senior league tag for the South Dubbo and Macquarie Raiders.

There's also netball on Saturdays and Shaw was also part of Dubbo's Division 1 open-age netball representative side.

"I love doing it all," she said.

The friendships made across so many different teams and carnivals has been a highlight, but Shaw could also be setting herself up for a future in sport.

The love for netball is there, but footy could be where Shaw ends up as a number of NRLW sides are aware of her talents.

There were some brief discussions at Canberra earlier this year when she starred for the Rams under 17s side at the Lisa Fiaola Cup and she's been tracked since.

"For a country girl, it would be pretty good," she said of potentially being signed by an NRLW club.

"It's something that I want to do. But I also don't want to leave home," she added with a laugh.

The interest from a higher level isn't a shock to those who know Shaw and have watched her over the years.

Described by some within Macquarie as "a freak" given her ability across so many sports, Shaw has taken the step up into open-age competition in her stride.

"She's come a long way," Macquarie league tag coach Kaitlyn Mason said.

"I coached her in the under 10s in touch ... and you can trust if you tell her something she's going to go out and do it.

"The skill level has improved and I've got her in juniors and seniors now and I've enjoyed that a lot.

"It's been great to see her develop over the years and I can't wait to see where she goes with it all."

Mason was also recently in the crowd cheering on Shaw and her Dubbo College teammates during the Astley Cup.

Shaw was a standout in the netball, playing goal attack, and in the athletics in both track and field events.

She described it as "such a good experience" while adding the netball win over Bathurst was a highlight.

That netball match, much like her footy matches, were special because she was playing alongside Makayla McKeown.

Another talented athlete, McKeown has been close friends with Shaw for the bulk of their lives.

"She's by my side in every sport," Shaw said.

"We've been friends since about year one and growing up together and having that friendship, we've basically become the same person."

This weekend Shaw will be in action for Macquarie's league tag side in a clash with Forbes.

Forbes sits top of the Group 11 pool with five rounds remaining while the Raidettes are third and both are on track for finals.

This weekend is also Indigenous round for Macquarie and Shaw added the chance to be around each as family means a lot.

Sunday's league tag match kicks off at 11am.

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