Maya Stewart is the Wallaroos' all-time leading try-scorer.
A special feat made all the more impressive,
considering she only picked up her first rugby union ball at 18 years old.
As a child, Maya always had the need for speed,
so when the first season of the Super W was shown on TV,
she thought it was something she'd give a crack.
Little did she know she would become a key member of the NSW Waratahs' side
who would go on to become the most successful team in Super W history
and that she would finish her 2024 season as Wallaroos' Player of the Year.
Welcome back to the Female Athlete Project. Thanks for joining us.
I'm Sophie, the producer here at TFAP,
and this week we welcome Wallaroos' winger Maya Stewart to the podcast.
Just a quick note, Chloe caught up with Maya last week
before the Wallaroos' first test match of the year.
But in that match against Fiji, Maya was injured,
so while she won't get to play this weekend against New Zealand,
we've got all our TFAP fingers
and toes crossed for her return as soon as possible.
In this chat, Chloe and Maya chat all things rugby union
and what it means to have such a quick rise in the sport
after overcoming two ACL injuries along the way.
We hope you enjoy this episode.
Maya Stewart, welcome to the Female Athlete Project.
Hello. Thank you for having me.
Oh, I don't really know where we're going to go.
I reckon we're going to go a bit rogue today.
Could be anything.
Could be anything.
Anything at all, but I'm excited.
We'll chat about...
Super W and winning and all those things,
but we're going to go back.
We always start going back to your childhood.
Can you describe yourself as a little kid?
God, like a little potbelly, running around,
short little sort of tomboyish hair.
One of five kids.
Grew up playing heaps of sport, which like was really good.
I think very energetic, but grateful mum and dad
would drive me literally anywhere.
And being one of five, you know,
that means dad's going this way, mum's going that way.
But yeah, very active, active household.
Grew up around sport.
All five kids played sport?
Older sister sort of started in sport and then went down more the beauty route.
But the rest of us, yeah, very active, all touch footy, netball, nippers, athletics.
You name it, we did it.
I think really good though, like taught us really good values.
And I don't know, being siblings, you're highly competitive.
So bragging rights at the dinner table.
Are there big gaps between you all or close?
Pretty big gap with me and my older sister.
Younger sister and I are 16 months apart.
So that was really cool though, playing sport.
I played up a little bit with my older sister.
Well, with mum and dad in our mixed touch team or the ladies touch team.
Yeah, really fun.
And then younger sister and I are 16 months apart.
So when we would play touch footy, it would be like every second year we'd get to play together.
So it'd be like, okay, we're together this year.
See you next year.
And then five year gap again with my little brother, only brother.
And then younger sister, Luca, who's 16 months apart with my brother.
So there's a few five year gaps in there.
Yeah, there's some consistent, weird consistent gaps going on there.
It's actually quite criminal that you were born in the year 2000.
I don't feel like that though.
I don't feel like a 2000 baby.
I think having an older sister.
Sort of grew up listening to all her music, doing whatever she did.
But when I read that, I'm like.
But also great with my age in the year.
Like, how old am I?
Yeah, because I forget.
After, I reckon after like my mid to late 20s, I forgot.
Like when someone asked you how old you are.
Couldn't tell you.
Turning 25 this year.
I actually was like.
No, this is not me.
You can't say that.
I keep looking at it as like, no, it's the peak.
Where are you peaking?
No, I actually reckon, I reckon mid to late 20s is peak.
You've been through the silly years of your early 20s.
I feel like you start to be a little bit more stable, but you're still in a place where
you're not expected to be too serious.
Well, a bit of frontal lobe development.
I actually feel like you can feel that kick in, like obviously in day to day life.
But even in like sport.
I just feel like a bit more maturity, a different take on things.
Some time in the game.
Was that your main sport then?
Fair bit of touch footy.
Netball on a Saturday kind of pushed away from netball.
We used to, I don't know, just to really, how would you say?
I felt too constricted by netball.
Well, yeah, I think I was.
It sounds weird, but too.
I was too aggressive.
I could see that.
Well, yeah, I could see that.
Goal defense, wing defense, a bit of center.
And great jump, but just didn't have the height in the end there to be in the circle.
So I started goalkeeper, goal defense, love that.
And then moved to a bit more wing defense.
And then, I don't know, as I got older, it just got easier to sort of be like, no, I'm,
you know, when things clash.
You're forced to make the decision.
I'm going to go with touch footy or nippers.
I really loved as well.
But I was a sand athlete.
Because I want it.
Where's the speed come from?
I didn't do like little athletics growing up.
Always sort of, I think from probably when I was like eight, nine.
Mom was like, you're kind of all right at this.
And then we sort of go through the schooling stuff and I'd find myself at, I don't know,
Oh, just found yourself on the podium.
Like, it's kind of weird when I think about it.
I probably could have gone down that route, but I just remember dad sort of saying to
me, you know, can you name to me the 10 women in the a hundred meter final?
And I was like, no, I can't.
But he's like, can you, can you name to me the winner?
And I said, absolutely.
And he's like, that's kind of the toughness of that sport.
Like you're either way to look at it.
yeah, you're either the best or you're there.
Like, obviously it's an accomplishment, but it's a cutthroat sport.
And I think training on your own, I just didn't really enjoy that as much.
I probably didn't train either.
I got there on natural ability, which was really cool, but I'll never forget.
We, I made the, the New South Wales team my first time, like going away with the team.
So we're in Townsville.
It was all, it was all weird.
Like I was like, what is this?
I'm away from mom.
There's no one there.
I'm flying with the team.
Like what's happening.
And I just remember like being there and a few weeks before dad was like, you should
definitely do some starts out of the blocks.
Like I reckon there's girls training for this.
Like you should probably, you know, lock in a little bit more.
So I did and I did enjoy it, but ended up coming away with a third there, which was
Wait, are we talking about nationals?
Hundred metre, which was really, we won gold in the four by one.
There was some pretty classy names in that.
So it was, it was pretty cool.
It was a very competitive age group and we were all, I think we all came in within like
a hundredth of the second.
Like it was a tight race, but I think that was a turning point for me as well.
It was like, okay, you're here and probably this is something you could do, but I just
It wasn't for you.
When did rugby first come onto the radar?
I grew up around dad playing.
Obviously I'm one of five, as I said, but last.
I was one of the first to play the sport.
Second oldest, which is really weird in itself too, but made the Aussie touch squad in 2016
and was playing at, is that massive tournament up the coast in Queensland?
Like all schools almost.
Let's go with that.
CCC playing for CCC.
Is that the Catholic one?
But it's so high school playing for CCC.
It was like, awesome.
I've been picked up in this touch.
Hayden Bird, obviously, touch player, sort of Faith Nathan, that sort of crew.
Oh, yeah, the OGs.
Yep, great little age group we had there.
But made that and ended up doing my knee, like my ACL, at that tournament.
And rugby was probably something that I always wanted to do
but wasn't quite sure of how.
Like no female team really back at home.
And then I was like, oh, this is something I really, really want to do.
I've done my knee.
I sort of did that rehab and was like, right, I'm going to play a game
and touch footy and then I'm out of here.
Yeah, I just came back to touch footy and was like, all right,
the knee's all good.
I think I want to play union.
So picked up the rugby union ball in 2018.
For the same club as my dad and our family, which was really cool as well.
Was keen to give the sevens a go, obviously, after you guys in 2016.
I think that inspired more than a few.
But it was like, yeah.
I think you can play sevens, but you're absolutely not going
to just play sevens.
You'll be playing 15s.
And I was like, oh, like, I don't know if this is right for me.
Why do you want me to play 15s type thing?
But he was like, you pick up the laws quicker.
You'll understand the game more.
Like, he's like, just stick with it.
You're doing both.
Met Chi Chi at the Waratahs in Newcastle and that was kind of it.
Like year in footy and then played on that Aon sort of tour.
Then got picked up.
Then got picked up by the Tars and the rest is almost history.
And Cheech Barker, for people who don't know, just retired after a very,
very impressive career at the Tars.
Played some Aussie sevens, Cheech.
Absolute legend of the game.
When was your Waratahs debut?
So I just remember being at the preseason, like, still in the same mentality.
I don't know if this is right for me.
Coming back from training,
I drive the three hours from Nelson Bay to, which is wild.
So by once I had made that squad, me and Chi Chi was sort of doing that drive together.
I'd start in Nelson Bay, pick her up in Newcastle and we'd like tag team, like, all right, you're
driving the way here.
You're driving the way back.
I think there might have been a point where I was on my green peas and she was like, no,
Like, I can't deal with you in the speed limit.
Down the freeway.
So she's sort of been there since day one.
Day one, which is really cool, I guess, too, to have someone like that.
But debuted in 2019.
So tail end of that 2018 preseason, the inaugural year.
I remember watching that on Foxtel, too.
Shout out to mom and dad for having Foxtel.
But dad was like, come down here.
Have a look at this.
Like, this is probably something, you know, you could do.
And I was watching it.
I was like, yeah, I think that could be something I could do.
The likes of Shanice Parker, Crystal Maguire, a few classy players in that side.
But found myself within, you know, that team a year later, which is sort of surreal.
And how do you feel about it now?
It's pretty cool that your dad drilled that into you.
But I literally look at that and I'm like, I sort of can't believe that that was my mentality.
Like, obviously, the sevens was around and you kind of associate that a bit more with touch footy, I guess.
Like, I don't know, like for like, it seems more similar, but I don't know what it was.
I think coming across the 15s.
And understanding that, like, it's not going to be individual brilliance.
Like, the aspect of a team putting together a performance and, like, unlocking people and finding ways to the try line.
I think that I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
Sevens, I also was like, oh, my God, I'm just gassed all the time.
I don't know how 14 minutes feels longer than 80, but it definitely does.
It's a brutal game.
Can you give us a good breakdown of 15 aside?
Obviously, Bez and I are very rugby and we love chatting rugby.
But I think for our audience who maybe haven't had a huge amount of exposure to rugby, can you give us a breakdown?
God, I think, like, when they say, like, it really appeals to all people, it definitely does.
Like, the girls, what they do in the front row is just.
I could not even try to put my hand up.
I guess sevens, I'd say pure athletes.
Top end speed, silky feet, like, know how to move a footy.
But 15s is obviously a bit more collision based.
But I guess, like, set piece as well.
Like, there's parts of the game that you can really admire that you're like, wow.
Like, as a winger, I'm like, I can't believe someone gets lifted in the air.
Like, during a game, I'm like, can we get a GoPro on someone and do, like, a.
There's no other sport.
Like, is there another sport where anyone gets lifted in the air like that?
I don't think so.
I'd love to do, like, a POV.
Like, I stand out on the wing and I'm like, Horsey always says to me, like, quite often
my point of view is lifting my head up and you back the scoring in the corner.
But I'm like, that's so weird because I'm just standing out there like, hurry up and
But I guess, how would you, like, sort of give it?
I think you've done a good, because it is a very, it's probably a complex game that
I think for people who don't understand it.
When I would talk rugby, like, Melbourne people are so ridiculous with the way, sorry, love
you guys if you're listening in Victoria, but the way you guys are obsessed with Aussie
rules and nothing else.
People think rugby league and rugby union are the same sport.
And then when you go sevens and fifteens, that gets even more complicated.
There's a complexity to it that I think if people don't understand it, they don't under,
they don't appreciate it.
I'd like to see a bit more sort of not normal.
knowledge but like breaking down of a scrum breaking down of a line out on coverage similar
to sort of how like the nfl you have you seen yeah okay like break down a play and i like this
is what they're looking to do i think as well maybe former players something to like so people
can understand like what is going on there because when you see a scrum and it just i don't know it
goes down and you're like whatever but there's like so much more to it than that yeah and obviously
we know that yes it's hard for a viewer to sort of understand that and have that perspective
yeah that's yeah is that something because we were chatting how you like doing chatting on the
radio and just having a yarn is that something you see yourself doing potentially during or post
career well it'd be really cool but i my knowledge of scrum is okay yeah maybe we might not get you
it's not i don't get you to it'd be really cool to see like i don't know like the horses of the
world people who are passionate about that like being able to sort of break it down in its simplest
form for the viewer yeah i like that i feel like there's not enough um respect but there's not
enough knowledge and understanding and if you could understand it more you would respect it
more yeah totally it's a part of the game like we win a scrum your backs are scoring a try nine
times out of ten yeah like understanding how important that is for other aspects of the game
yeah totally and i guess sorry rugby league but there that that piece of the game is just not
there yeah line out perspective scrum like that sort of thing it's not really
shout out to the front rowers i guess and the forward pack but it's not really
it's not as related yeah like the understanding is just not yeah there obviously we have that but
hard for the if you're someone who's not a rugby fan or hasn't played it and hasn't i don't know
sort of watched a whole lot of it you're just not really sure what you're looking at yeah there and
it's happening okay new content piece idea i really think it could be great yeah i like that
and you know scrum time like it can surely there's enough time there while repacks going on to sort
of break it down surely above you
yeah this is what this person's trying to do this prop's trying to do that the hook is trying to do
that yeah i like that yeah that's really bizarre also coming from a winger but she admires it from
afar she admires it from afar you guys recently won your sixth super rugby women's title with
the new south wales waratahs absolutely dominant how's the game change and probably the competition
change over that six years oh more than six years well yeah the six years i've been a part of it
um the quality like the quality of player coming through like the standard the competition i think
we didn't want to see melbourne obviously pull up pull out and not be a part of the competition but
i think it's strengthened other provinces right like you get to sort of sprinkle them across a
few teams and then it sort of betters the comp as a whole yeah as well as that you sort of see like
more girls coming across from seven sevens i think even like for myself like having a bit more time
in the game playing a bit of
in the game playing a bit of in the game playing a bit of in the game playing a bit of
international matches you sort of i don't know you develop a different sort of understanding and
you're looking at other aspects of the game yeah like sort of sat with my boyfriend um pre wxv and
well he's a forward for everyone out there so two really different perspectives yeah but um sort of
broke down the back of the lineup and i was that's not like something i would ever got yeah look at
like as an opportunity for me but like great little seam in there okay or like i don't know
just parts of the game that you're not as you're not as you're not as you're not as you're not as
familiar with i think for players who have been playing like when i first started i was just a raw
yeah kid playing i don't know hands on the footy carry whatever yeah like score a try like there's
nothing really to it but now it's like i think there's a few of us who've spent enough time in
the game now that we're understanding aspects of it more and it sort of shows in the whole comp i
think definitely the quality has gone up and i think with wallaroos as well having more girls
within that space then coming back to other provinces has helped the comp yeah i think
like you saw queensland obviously last year for them was a tough year but they have a few girls
return um sprinkle a few sevens girls in there lane goes up there eva goes up there some girls
from like you know our end who've spent a fair bit of time in our program and it it sort of even
evens out the playing field again i guess a bit yeah i actually really liked seeing that we
ben and i chatted about it on the rap podcast a couple of times i i think it's that tricky thing
of like if you're a successful outfit you don't want to lose talent and you don't want to lose
it's completely fair enough but i loved the quality of games but also how close they were
i think as a viewer that's that's such a positive thing when it's closer games totally i mean you
guys saw our opening game was a loss which was frustrating had a few key players out but then
we roll into that force game and having those girls come back in we're probably a little bit
clunky right playing against them though and they really fronted up they were physical their set
was a tough win and we play them later in the semi-final and it does blow out a little bit more
but for our second game of the season you're probably sitting there going like oh like yeah
this is not something that we're used to that feeling you know yeah yeah so i think it has been
really positive for the comp especially coming into a world cup year like that's what you need
you need people feeling a little bit of pressure a little bit of competition yeah yeah what is it
like being part of a team that has been so successful in such a short period of time it's
it's obviously it's really special too because you're not sort of used to that
i don't want to say losing mentality but it's there's such a winning formula within our team
yeah and i think there's almost like a waratah way you sort of come in and you understand like
who we are and what we're about and you either fit the mold or you're not yeah you're not there
but yeah it's it's special i think when i first came into the program i was learning off the
likes of like mahalia murphy shanice parker crystal mcguire like girls like that who spend a little
time in the international space and i probably was like this is like the normal but it's really not
god yeah like being at a training with those girls week in and week out and just learning
little things within your position yeah you sort of better everyone around you but i think i was
just so young and probably like this is what you know it's like for everyone but yeah it's such a
successful side and obviously we would make up a big part of the wallaroo squad but there's
definitely like a mentality and like a waratah way that sort of doesn't really matter to me
it's just it's there and it's natural which is really cool yeah i think for like the younger
girls coming in as well like we've got some really young girls by ardia ellis caitlin holes
millie parker ruby anderson yeah whittaker like we've got lots of young girls coming through
um river was our head coach was kind of like to me so you know you'll be mentoring a few girls
and i'm like wait what like i started in that position so it's really cool to sort of stay
in that organization and i guess come through it and almost be on the the other side of it like
i like that you're in a position now to help someone who was once you yeah which is really
cool so yeah what is your approach when you're mentoring some of these young kids i'm a pretty
um a pretty happy-go-lucky guy like i'm really relaxed but i also like to have a joke so caitlin
holes loves hanging around me but i have to not allow her to be too silly at times okay but also
like i want them to be able to enjoy themselves there like understanding like when it's time to
switch on have a laugh and you know like different parts of i don't know that's kind of part of it
like knowing when you gotta lock in and when you you know allowed to have a bit of a laugh and have
fun you don't want to feel like it's that high pressure environment all the time yes you want
them to feel comfortable in that space be able to be themselves and i think like with the girls that
we have there we're all getting a bit bit older now but like when i first came in there was like
mackenzie myself uh who else was there bridie yeah like a few girls who have like almost
seen through that cycle god yeah so mentoring them it's almost like you think of yourself
back then and things you enjoyed and things you didn't enjoy and how you can make it as
comfortable as it can be for those girls i guess i like that yeah i want to talk about your 2024
season with the wallaroos our national team you were named wallaroos player of the year you broke
the record for the most tries scored by a wallaroos player you guys won the wxv two
competition and you were named wallaroos try of the year for your epic try against whales but
most notably that try was shared by scissor on her stories that was literally such a pinch me
like moment i'm sitting in the living room and my sister is my younger sister so luca i'm like oh
like it can be quite painful at times you know like sorry luca fifth child syndrome like oh gosh
16 that's where we're at there's a big gap yeah so she's calling me i'm like i just i'm not answering
this right now sorry luca and then i'm on my phone and i'm flicking through stories obviously i follow
scissor of course yes and i'm like hey what and i swiped back and i was like oh my god and i stood
up off the lounge my boyfriend and his family are looking at me like i'm like what's happened like
who's died like something wrong like i was like oh my god they're looking at me like oh my god
and i was like will's like what like just say what's happened i was like scissor showed me on
her story i was like you're not going to believe this like genuinely i'm standing there like
disbelief i'm answering my sister's facetime call she's answer me answer me that is exactly what she
wanted to tell me my phone's blowing up our waratahs group chat is of course blowing up i
just kind of sat there and was like what like this is so cool but i guess for like all the kids out
there that's the reach that rugby has like that global platform
is like i don't know unreal you're playing a test match against wales in south africa and somehow
scissor who's in america has seen your post like i just yeah i can't really comment any like did
she write anything on the story or she literally just reshared it do you have sure you have we
need the screen record okay i had to screen record it because i was like no one's gonna
believe me yeah this is not a story you can just you know you go off the tongue and because it was
posted by rugby past there was no like scissor has
shared like your story type notification god yeah but if i had collaborated on that post
i think i could have potentially slid into her dms better it wouldn't have to be a message request
so did you try well embarrassingly enough i had a previous oh no yes about what yes oh i think it
might have been i love this song of yours yeah i think it might have said something like that
which is really embarrassing but it might have been when her album was coming out and i wanted
some merch and i was like please can you like
release merch to australia and then they might okay that's a reasonable request you're not like
asking for her to like get you backstage there might have been another one that was like like
i love you like i was like no but i was like then i responded again and was like please i'm the girl
in this story like it was a bit what did you want from her i don't know just like hey talk to me
love me yeah it's me yeah like something like that but it's really cool like i don't know i
just can't believe i was sitting there in my lounge and that's what happened
it was the night before our force game so we were bumping scissor in the change rooms the next day
everyone was vibing out group chat was going off like good it was unreal i love that yeah but
on a serious note your performance in the 2024 season where did it come from i think
it's a tough one like we spent so much time not playing footy during that covid period
that it sort of gives you that like drive and desire not
that like you ever should have played but it's like it's a that missed opportunity like that
would have been like when i was 20 through to 22 yeah did my acl and then rolled into that
world cup so it hasn't been like the best of i don't know sort of a build-up i guess yeah it's
been a tricky sort of path for me weirdly enough you roll off like that then into a like season
ending injury hoping that you're gonna get to the world cup and yeah i think i was such a
i was in such a different mentality then you're like in that rehab zone like yeah i don't know
you're you're selfish because you're like like you have to be like it's all you got yeah you
have to be and then ended up going away and debuting at that world cup but i guess it's not
like it's awesome that you get to tick that off and achieve that but it's you're not like expressing
yourself or playing the footy that you sort of want to it's like you're there and you've done it
but kind of in your little your box and you're like you're not like you're not like you're not
i think i was just a different athlete then so having some time in the suit like in the super
world and just being able to i don't know get back to playing footy again sort of finding i don't
know finding your feet again and sort of nutting it out again like it's almost like you start again
yeah but coming off the back of a few good seasons there some wins obviously with the tars that were
special but the takeover in coaches too it was just refreshing like a different perspective on
analyzing probably watching a whole lot more tape and having more respect for like that element of
the game i think you sort of rely on a bit of your natural ability footwork as an outside back that
you don't really understand the knowledge piece so yeah just trying to expose myself to different
aspects of the game and then playing consistent footy like being able to what did we play last
year like 10 test matches i think it was a lot more than yeah ever the most ever which was like
it showed in our performances as well we sort of struggle with that you come together after a
super season and you you try trying to like work it out almost like your dna and who makes that
ward and yeah combinations things like that so just more time together knowing the players around
you understanding different aspects of the game sort of like all contribute to that but i would
say as well probably respecting like that part of the game more but also recovery and things like
that like it sounds so so lame but
yeah i think it's just not everything's done on the training paddock yes like understanding going
home and watching tape is yeah is knowledge as well or yes recovering or i don't know even
sort of mid-super season we nutted out some stuff i sat in the room at tars with freddie bella myself
and it was like you review a game but being able to go in there with a center and a fly half like
yeah i'm not looking at things that they're looking at yeah of course they're not looking
at things that i'm looking at either right so it was like a lot of the things that i'm looking at
it was nice to be able to sort of look at things like that and be like expose yourself to different
parts of the game like okay bella's seeing this but i'm seeing this or freddie's seeing this
have we thought about this like sort of pulled that western force game apart and i don't know
like different perspective i think that was probably my massive learning for 2024 it's not
all about you know numbers and data and that sort of that that stuff takes care of itself like you
work hard and yeah that's there but
probably tapping into other parts of the game that i haven't before i like that yeah i like
going a bit more full time has allowed for that yeah i'm not at child care like i'm not doing
stuff like that as the child or as the well as the educator but like that's the thing you know
yeah you you work a day and then you rock up at training and you're sort of almost surviving
like totally it's so different like totally in survival mode so different like what you can do
with your time like even
using my time better like sitting there with will my boyfriend who's a front rower and he's talking
about other aspects of the game too like i feel like i just didn't have that it was almost like
go go go you didn't actually have the capacity to be doing the like optional extras in a way
but and they shouldn't probably be optional it should be something that you know we're all doing
but like like i said girls are working yeah nine to five like it's just it's something that probably
is easy to push away because you're just surviving yeah so that was like
i guess eye-opening in that sense like what it means to probably be a more semi-professional
athlete having that flexibility and tapping into areas that i haven't been familiar with
yeah i think that contributed a lot to my 2024 but i think the team as well the continuity piece
like just being together more playing more footy obviously we got relegated to wxv2 which i think
as well was tough for the group because you sort of pride yourself on being in that top tier but
it's sort of allowed for us to learn how to win some games close out games as well yes which is
a really important i reckon that's so undervalued as a skill 100 agree with you yeah yeah uh 2023 i
know we just chatted 2024 but i want to go back to 2023 so after the fifa women's world cup or
during the fifa women's world cup as a playing group you shared a collective statement on your
instagram calling out the treatment of of you guys as women's players how did you come to a decision
as a playing group to do that and what were the results of that and what were the results of that
it was pretty tricky like it was the results off the back were that we ended up in the position
that we are now which should have happened a lot earlier but it was a really hard thing to do
because you know you dedicate your time to rugby and it feels so like almost feels like you're
cheating on them yeah like you're like like i love this but this isn't good enough yeah and
the playing group almost sort of came to that like by the end of that and we looked at it and it was
like okay if we do this we're all in like everybody has to want to do this and yeah that's
the route that we took but it was brave and it sounds so weird but like it was a lot of it was
just done massive group calls like yeah it was really it felt like it had been brewing for some
time but when it all came together it was just it had gotten to that point where it just had to
happen yeah but um there was a few of us who were like quite passionate about it obviously
like i said before people are at work and people have things to do so yeah we it was kind of cool
like we nutted out like who would be best at putting this together within our space we had
lawyers we had girls who work in i don't know finance like everyone sort of bought what they
had to the table and it was like how can we put this together in the right way and do this and
you know still stay on on track and get what we want out of it but it was it was so brave and
i'm so glad we did that it did not feel right at the time though
it it felt really wrong and we sort of didn't know the consequences either but i think we almost
forced their hand like the things that we were saying were bare minimum things and yeah they
just they needed to be done and it had to happen but i look at where we are now and i don't think
any of us regret that at all like it it is weird to reflect on though because it was so touch and
go it was like it had been brewing for some time but when we put in a little bit of thought to it
it was like no we're doing this like it's happening
i still remember my mom and dad like calling me being like what's going on but they were so happy
like we knew we had support in our corner as well yeah and i think like you said off the back of the
matildas it was just so fitting like how can we use this not to our advantage but that's where
women's sports sat now like we needed change and we needed something to happen and it needed to
happen fast yeah yeah bears and i always like to say a rising tide lifts all boats i've actually
got it on the back of this t-shirt that i'm wearing and i think that's kind of i look at
that example where there was
so much momentum around the world cup um for the matildas i think the timing of it like it was
received so well by the public which is quite a powerful thing when i imagine because i know that
feeling as an athlete when you're speaking out about something there's so much fear that comes
with that 100 it was like seeing what they had done and how australia just got on board with
them and like i was talking about this with my boyfriend um it's not like it wasn't a results
base we support this team because they win it was
we support this team because we love them we've made connections with them we love what they're
doing like it was so fitting off the back of that because we probably weren't an overly successful
team but in order to sort of break that barrier and push into that space something had to be done
yeah so seeing how well that was received by the australian public and then i don't know it was
pretty weird like turning on the news and seeing that yeah stuff on there was like this is like
happening like yeah sort of sat there in your little bubble like wow
we had a few like player meetings and we we sort of put together a list of things that we wanted to
get out of it and presented that and came away with some pretty important things yeah yeah i feel like
we're just jumping around chronologically not in chronological order at all but i'm just gonna roll
with it because i'm just like going with what we're talking about so if we talk about the
matildas in that home world cup you guys will have a home world cup in 2029 which is huge for women's
rugby here in australia what do you think needs to be done to ensure that you guys can have a
similar experience to the material world cup and i think that's a really important thing to do because
i think like i wouldn't even say i'm a massive soccer fan yeah i just love the matildas and what
they're doing and the way that they're sort of promoting themselves yeah watching them i ended
up watching that documentary on them that was on disney plus yep and i speaking about it again with
my boyfriend he's a sports journalist so we get through a fair bit of stuff there but you guys
talk a lot i like it sounds like a healthy relationship yes and no um we were chatting
about it and it was like it probably doesn't showcase the individual enough we we showcase
the team and the banner but we need to showcase personality and develop connections you know with
fans and players i think watching that documentary on disney plus was really cool because it was like
i know i feel like i know this person this player personally like don't you delve into people's lives
and their stories like everyone has a story to tell they showcase personality you've seen behind
the scenes stuff like yeah it was a great
role into that so it was like i don't know you got to see the player the personality and they
made themselves more available i guess yeah like that fan connection they appealed so much and like
i said before it wasn't about the the winning or the losing it was like hey i support soccer and i
support australia like i support this team i i think we sort of need to push for that a bit more
less showcasing of the banner and more showcasing of the individual which is really weird
for rugby i think because i think rugby league
do it great i think the nfl do it great the nba like understanding the person developing connection
and like having little girls be like hey i want to be like that that are yeah and they like this
and i like this too like yeah totally developing that that connection because like we see the player
on the field but we don't often see the person off it yes i think there's a really unique opportunity
for us there as well as wallaroos we have so many different stories like seriously there's moms
there's lawyers like people work in child care there's everyone does something different and
everyone is a little bit different their journey's different you know yeah their journey to that
wallaroos side is different as well like i think we're sort of sitting on like a sleeping sleeping
giant i agree i i really want to make the doco happen about the wallaroos it'd be really cool
yeah i'm trying to work in the background to make it happen you guys actually i remember watching it
obviously very inspired by the 2016 oh yeah
aussie sevens olympic team you guys had the road to rio yes i forgot about that well i watched that
chloe oh great that's what i mean though like you sort of like someone i don't know making it to a
world cup we got people coming back from acls we got people who are just you know moms and hoping
to get there i don't know there's there's something to be said and everyone's story is
different it's sort of how you how you tell it but i think there is a great opportunity there
for us to sort of follow suit and you know have a similar sort of experience i like that yeah
2025 this year you guys are preparing for a world cup over in the uk and it's going to be huge
we've already seen i think ticket sales are 275 000 plus already i think england have nearly sold
out every game that they are playing in which is huge it's been quite amazing to see the way the
games explode over in the uk we've seen alona mara and what she's done in the us
we've seen the i guess the development of these domestic leagues continue to grow
and i think that's going to be a huge opportunity what does the road look like for you guys leading
up to the 2025 world cup i guess we roll into camp post super we bring everyone together again
like i spoke on that continuity piece we've got a fair few games test matches that will be played
here in australia which is exciting amazing so many last year that were obviously overseas and
you love the travel but there's something to be said about playing at home and yes
there's a test match over in newcastle yes so i went to school in newcastle close to home yeah
grew up in nelson bay when i was actually a full circle story here but back in 2019 when i was in
the wider squad we were at uh the girls played a test match at number two against japan you might
have been there actually at which where was it number two uh in newcastle wanderer's home ground
oh maybe i was you might i reckon you were there but um bez was definitely there horsey was playing
um i was on the sidelines i feel like i would have been yeah i think you would have been i was on the
sidelines and i just remember watching it being like this is unreal like yeah this is what i want
to do yeah essentially played japan but now coming back that would have been seven years ago maybe
seven or eight i think seven years ago yeah so coming back now we're at mcdonald jones stadium
so completely different that was a park footy ground the girls were at mcdonald jones which
is really really cool yeah like that's the night's home ground yeah you know i think
the opportunity to play there and having all the people that you sort of move away from home
as well like friends family and then pop yeah uncles the works cousins school friends and as
well like going back to sort of where i started that like that week in newcastle will be so
special like opportunity you know go out and do clinics with girls who are playing rugby
things like that lane will be there as well there's a fair few um
home games so it'd be really cool i think there's one in canberra one in newcastle
i'm in brisbane maybe yeah i think so this would be the most home tests i think that we've
ever had huge so super important obviously rolling into a world cup here and building on that 29
home world cup that's what you need matches at home absolutely yeah yeah how good um
oh i wanted to ask about your injuries oh we were watching the grand final the other day and
unfortunately had a bit of a head knock yeah you've had a few concussions obviously you had
a couple of acls and some hammy injuries that have been a rough run and i feel yeah when we talk
injuries i feel your pain yeah um what how have you kind of managed probably more so the mental
side of it rather than the physical side i think doing an acl really young like i've spoken before
i think i was 16 when i did my first knee you sort of um you're just a kid and you yeah get
through it and you're like all right like yeah i'm out of that but you have a bit more of sort
of an understanding of your body and what it's capable of and what it takes to get through it
to get back to where you were yeah at a young age yeah um i think having done one of those early
sort of helped me because you spend some time out of the game which as it like growing up you're
just itching for what's what's next so sort of understanding that um i guess to doing that one
before the world cup made it so special to be back like i didn't really care if i was back
playing international footy or whatever i just wanted to be back playing footy with my mates but
understanding that like it's a process and respecting your body and sort of putting like
i said you have to be so selfish but putting yourself first and then in saying that also
being able to take time away for yourself to like enjoy other parts of your life like you can't just
hone in on that and be like this is it like this is all i'm doing as much as it feels like that
but frustrating last year to sort of have that hammy as well coming off the back of super that
was tricky but it was a process that i wasn't you know
not familiar with like god yeah yeah like you sort of just go back to that and you're like well
it's not a knee it's not too serious yeah it's a hammy you know i'll be back but i think you're
also like when you are back you really enjoy it a whole lot more my mom likes to say it's
character building and i said mel i have enough character oh i don't need the silver linings and
resilience and character building i have more than enough seriously more than enough but i think it's
when someone else is injured too within the space you can really like i don't know give them a shoulder
to lean on and you understand but you never feel like you're not going to come back but
it can be tricky at times i think just not diving too deep into it yeah you got to have like balance
within your space still but when you are back it's bloody unreal yeah coming back from like that knee
to the world cup that was so special especially that world cup yeah it was it was huge over in
new zealand it was huge over in new zealand it was huge over in new zealand it was huge over in
new zealand yeah i think most tickets ever sold in that that opening game actually and then they
blitzed it again with that final yeah i was um 24th man in that opening game so that was like a
really sort of bizarre experience you warm up and you're like all right i'll just be over here
but it was really good prep obviously for the next week which was my debut against scotland so
it was cool but sitting in the stands for that game i just
like i'm still like that was a women's rugby game like this is unreal and for any walleroo's fans we
were up at at half time i'm sitting there like oh like yeah what's happening i remember i was behind
um the goalpost and my boyfriend and his mom and dad were opposite it was literally a sea of black
and i could see these three gold jerseys and they said it was so silent you've never heard a crowd
wow so silent because we were up at the half and they're sitting there like yeah
they said it was bloody unreal like i just remember looking down at them being like
what's going on who has had the biggest impact on you as a person oh god i've had a few yeah i feel
like that's a constantly changing thing for me but obviously mom and dad you like come through
your pathways and grow up playing your junior sport and you sort of as you become an adult
understand how much they do for you and for your siblings as well and the time sacrificed
and the money and and whatever and you you sort of develop a bit more of like i don't know i guess
like wow when you're there and you're just doing it you're like oh whatever like yeah this is the
normal this is what we always do but as you grow up and understand how much is sacrificed for that
especially being one of five like you're like thank you like for sort of giving me this opportunity but
that's ever changing for me i think my boyfriend will just is that your boyfriend's name i haven't
heard his name yet today will
will has been um really it's been interesting that we got together we met at ramwick but
um he's a front rower i'm a winger bizarre combination but he just like he's from an
all boy family so one of three boys and they probably didn't have a lot to do with any
female sport but getting together with him and they just love it now like any female
sport is on the television they're at all my games like
they just love it now
have such a different perspective on it now and I think like understanding that I guess you can
have that sort of influence on people like he sees like my week or my day-to-day stuff and
he just gets it like yeah it's really cool though being able to sit down and chat footy with a
family and I don't know it's weird because it's three boys and I'm the ring in I live with them
but it's unreal like it's almost like a home away from home like it's really cool yeah moving from
yeah big fan they've welcomed me in but it's been so special like they were over at that
world cup for my debut they've been to a few tests now they're everywhere at his game it's
really cool it's bloody unreal they're a Newington family and a Randwick family so
to be able to convert them over to support the women's game has been bloody unreal yeah solid
I like that I ask everyone on the podcast what is your favorite failure oh god
in anywhere um guys this is so embarrassing when I first started playing rugby we played this game
I can't even remember where it was it was out west somewhere it was like the country champs or
something I kid you not like I have played so much like touch footy played enough rugby at that
point I scored a try on the five the five no yeah it was and it was um it was streamed
can I find the footage no no but I was like mayor what the hell did you put it down or dive I dived
oh that even worse that's so much worse I don't want to say it's worse but it's so much worse
so bad like and then what happened was someone close to you well sort of I like I tried to like
try to block it out I tried to like play it off in like a long place and I was like no that's just
no that's happened yeah that has happened I like that so embarrassing I actually fully can remember
see it on that stream I was like mayor never again you know how there's like the um the corner post
yeah and they're like at the um five well yeah and they're at the the dead oh wait no they try
and dead ball are they sometimes at the five yeah because there's 22 and five yeah try dead ball yes
so it was just like peak embarrassment too many too many corner posts yeah that's why leave them
in the important spot far out I like that anyway that was like peak embarrassment
especially as a winger it's like your one job just score the try
I'll score it on the five no actually I'm so embarrassed saying that but that did happen
I like that you shared the story yeah thank you so much it's a lame failure like it's a like yeah
it's a good story it makes a good story though yeah well I like my lesson you've never done it
again yeah see perfect and I don't plan on it yeah that's it that's it far out how good um thank you
for your time today it's been very fun to have a chat thanks so much for listening if you got
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