'Only going to get tougher': How NRLW has boosted Jillaroos talent pool

Jillaroos coach Brad Donald believes the strength of his World Cup squad is highlighted by the players who missed out and predicts selections are only going to get tougher when the NRLW expands to 10 teams next season.

Dragons fullback Emma Tonegato and interchange hooker Quincy Dodd were among the notable omissions, along with teenage Knights halfback Jesse Southwell and Titans veteran Karina Brown, as Donald named just five players from the triumphant 2017 World Cup campaign.

Of the five, Kezie Apps, Sammy Bremner and Ali Brigginshaw have been appointed co-captains as Donald seeks to replicate the model he successfully employed in 2017 with Ruan Sims, Renae Kunst and Steph Hancock as the Jillaroos leaders.

With the other two World Cup survivors - Isabelle Kelly (Sydney Roosters) and Simaima Taufa (Parramatta) - captaining their clubs, the Jillaroos boast a strong leadership team.

However, there are 13 players yet to represent the Jillaroos, while hooker Keely Davis only made her Test debut in 2019 just months before the global COVID-19 pandemic shut international borders and Australia’s mens, womens and wheelchair teams have not played since.

“It is hard because a number of players who helped dig the well are the ones missing out, and that just shows that there is a bunch of young girls coming through,” Donald said.

“I want to acknowledge the NRLW clubs in how they have adapted and how they have made sure that those players are prepared so the product is great. It is not like preparing men’s teams and those NRLW clubs have been really good.

“We have seen nearly all the NRLW clubs since inception reach the grand final so they have taken it extremely seriously and they are a big part of this, as well.”

With the NRLW expanding from six teams to 10 next season, Donald said representative selection was “only going to get tougher” as the competition did not come to fruition until after the 2017 World Cup.

Tonegato helped the Jillaroos win their first World Cup in 2013 before switching to rugby sevens and she made a stunning return earlier this year in the postponed 2021 competition, being named joint Dally M Medallist with Boyle.

However, Knights fullback Tamika Upton confirmed her place on the plane for England after winning the Karyn Murphy Medal in Sunday’s grand final defeat of the Eels, while Bremner has also made a triumphant return in the Roosters No.1 jersey after the birth of her second child.

Donald noted that Bremner had been appointed Jillaroos captain in 2018 before having her first child.

The inaugural Dragons captain was named Dally M fullback of the year for her performances with the Roosters in the 2022 NRLW.

“She has had a great season for us at the Sydney Roosters,” said NSW and Roosters coach Kylie Hilder, who helped pick the Jillaroos squad with her Queensland counterpart Tahnee Norris and Donald.

“She missed out on Origin because she had only just come back after having her baby,” Hilder said. “It is great for her, and she is a great person off the field as well, so I am really excited for Sam.”

Donald said all 24 members of the squad would play in the pool matches against Cook Islands, France and New Zealand to ensure they were given a chance to push for a place in the sudden-death stage of the tournament.