Advertisement

How Aussie boxer has already won Games medal

She hasn't thrown a punch in earnest and the competition is yet to get underway but Aussie boxer Taylah Robertson is guaranteed a Commonwealth Games medal.

Due to one of the quirks of the competition the local Queenslander scored a bye in Tuesday night's draw, propelling her into the semi-finals of the scarcely-populated 51kg division.

It means win or lose, the 19-year-old will take home the bronze medal but she faces a long and anxious wait before her first bout on April 13.

Team coach Kevin Smith told AAP said while a guaranteed medal sounds nice in theory, it's not the ideal way for Robertson to kick off her Games campaign.

"We would have preferred Taylah not to get the bye, to be honest with you," Smith said.

"She's done all this training and she's prepared and ready to box anyone.

"We're not calling her the bronze medallist. She's our first medallist and we're hoping that it will be a gold medal."

Robertson is guaranteed a bronze medal at the least. Pic: Facebook
Robertson is guaranteed a bronze medal at the least. Pic: Facebook

Boxing Australia is funded on a shoestring compared to the Great Britain Boxing powerhouse which oversees the English, Scottish and Welsh teams and has arrived on the Gold Coast with a vast support staff.

Smith hopes that disparity will be balanced out by a parochial Gold Coast crowd with two of Australia's best medal hopes, 22-year-olds Skye Nicolson and Clay Waterman, certain to enjoy strong hometown support.

Australia's boxers are hoping youthful exuberance can trump experience in their quest for Commonwealth Games gold.

Eight of the 13 members of the combined mens' and womens' squad on the Gold Coast are 22 or younger, while 33-year-old Kaye Scott is the only boxer with previous Games experience.

Not that it counts for much, if the surprise absence of Jeff Horn-stablemate Joe Goodall is anything to go by.

A silver medallist at Glasgow in 2014, as well as a bronze medallist at last year's world championships, Goodall had been an overwhelming favourite to win gold in the super-heavyweight category.

But in a huge upset, the Queenslander crashed out in qualifying to relative unknown Toese Vou Siutu, a former Melbourne Storm NRL squad member.

"It's an example of where maybe experience can work against you," team coach Kevin Smith told AAP.

"Some athletes can get complacent if they've achieved things in the past. You're only actually as good as your next bout and Toese showed that against Goodall because he deservedly won through in the qualification event.

"In our case we've got a young team who are dying to achieve great things and they can't wait to get in the ring and show people how good they are."

With AAP