Natalie Dwyer
Hooker
Player Bio
- Inducted:
- 2024
- Date of Birth:
- 31 March 1973
- Birthplace:
- Wollongong, NSW
- Nickname:
- -
Career
Milestones
- Played 26 Tests for the Jillaroos 1995-2013, including five as captain
- Captained Jillaroos in inaugural Test v New Zealand in 1995
- Played in World Cups in 2000 and 2013
- Toured New Zealand in 1997 and Fiji in 1998
- Began career as a centre with Wollongong Wildcats in 1993
- A tryscorer for NSW in the first women’s interstate match in 1999
- Relocated to Queensland where she played five times for the Maroons
Biography
Nat Dwyer is a household name in women's rugby league and one of the game’s pioneers.
Dwyer, listed as Jillaroo No.1 on the official player number list, was Australia’s first female captain in the 1995 Test against New Zealand at Lidcombe Oval. During a stellar 19-year representative career, Dwyer also had the rare distinction of playing for both NSW and Queensland.
Having started her playing career in Wollongong in the early 1990s, Dwyer represented NSW on 13 occasions before switching to Queensland after moving to Brisbane for work.
Starting as a centre, Dwyer showed her versatility by playing in the halves, five-eighth, hooker and even lock.
After helping Australia break New Zealand’s international stranglehold in the final of the 2013 World Cup, Dywer moved into coaching and has been a member of the Queensland coaching staff. The medal for the player of the match in the U19s women’s State of Origin is named in her honour.
Hall of Fame Members
National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.
