24 donuts in a day: How Elsie fixed her sweet tooth binge

It’s a summer’s evening in February last year and Elsie Albert is training on her own in Sydney’s west when she can’t push herself any further.

Albert, one of the most intimidating forwards in the NRLW, sends a text message to her Dragons strength and conditioning coach at the time, Ryan Bailey, to give an update on how the session went. 

“I told him I’d finished two boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts before training and I couldn’t finish,” Albert says.

Two boxes? As in, two dozen donuts?

“Yes, I ate 24 donuts in a day,” Albert laughs in response.

“Krispy Kreme sponsored St Marys (Albert’s NSW Premiership side at the time) so they gave me some vouchers that I could use to get some donuts.

“I got a 24-pack of original glazed and thought I’d go home and have a couple then after training have some more.

“That didn’t work. I had six and just kept going. I finished the whole box. I went to training and didn’t get through it.”

Peel back the layers to this remarkable feat and you get to know the challenges of Albert’s journey since she arrived in Australia to start playing in the NRL Telstra Women’s Premiership in 2020.

Albert, who is from Pulupatu – a small village in the Pangia district of Papua New Guinea, which requires a one-hour flight, three-hour drive and four-hour walk to get to from Port Moresby – says she is still adjusting to life in a major city like Sydney.

Going from eating foods that come from the local village garden like sweet potato, greens and other nutritious fruits and vegetables, to being exposed to processed foods and sweets in Australia has been a challenge to overcome.

“We do have sugar back home but it’s all natural," Albert said.

"We’d go through the cane gardens and suck on them. The sugar everyone uses in Australia is quite expensive back home and it’s used for different things.

“We don’t do cakes or anything like that, so coming to Australia it was eye-opening. Everything was available for me to try and I did. It's easily accessible.

"That was a challenge for me. You can sit on the phone and just order. The first time I got here all my money went on food."

Albert’s habit with donuts continued when she moved in with the likes of Kezie Apps, Meg Ward and Madison Bartlett in Wollongong while at the Dragons last year.

Every morning the group would head down to the beach and do some yoga before ending up at a local café. For Albert, it would often include eating a donut.

“When Meg and some of the other girls left after the 2021 season I’d still go down and get one with a cup of coffee and send a picture to them,” she said.

"But then before the second season I realised that these things weren’t helping me so I started to cut down.

I've stopped altogether with donuts and haven’t touched a Krispy Kreme since that training session last year.

- Elsie Albert

"The more I’ve stayed in the NRLW the more I’m educated on food. I’ve cut down on everything and clubs are doing a really good job to get nutritionists and financial advisors to be involved in the women’s space."

Albert's first season at Parramatta hasn't gone to plan with the new recruit restricted to just half a game after reaggravating a calf injury in Round 4 of the competition. 

A calf strain at captain's run in July originally halted her start with the blue and gold.

"I felt a cramp and couldn’t lift my leg, it was a mild strain with a 1-centimetre tear," Albert said.

"I recovered well and did all the return to play and then played the Broncos game and it was worse. The tear went to eight centimetres. This one I could feel it snap and I couldn’t get back on the line.

"I was really heartbroken and knew the season was over for me. It's not the way I wanted to start my time at the Eels but I've had good people around me.

"And now that we have multi-year contracts I think not only does it provide some security for us but it allows clubs to manage you through an injury."

Albert's calf issues have been put down to another concern on her opposite leg - a knee cartilage problem that she has been carrying for 12 months - meaning she was not putting an equal amount of weight on both feet when running.

The 27-year-old underwent cleanout surgery on Tuesday which will rule her out of the Prime Minister's XIII and start of the Pacific Championships for the Orchids.

"I recover fast usually so my fingers are crossed I can get back for maybe the last game with PNG," Albert said.

"I've played on with my knee since the World Cup and second NRLW season last year. It wasn’t that bad but it has got worse and it's better to get it done now."

Albert at the very least wants to return to PNG having not seen her family in four years, including not being back to Pulupatu since 2017. 

"It’s a long time thinking that I haven't been home as I do miss my family but I feel like I’ve set up my life here now," she said.

"If I go back there’s not much for me to do opportunity-wise. Being able to support my family, it’s what keeps me here.

"They’re very grateful. I’m the first child so in the 'islander way' if you’re the first child you can provide. I did have a few offers from other clubs this year but when I spoke to the Eels a lot was around the financial side of it.

"My dad, who is a police officer back home, is going to retire soon. There are no opportunities for young kids to work and me being here helps my siblings with school fees and books. It helps a lot. It’s almost triple the money to me.

We’re not going to play rugby league forever, so the best thing is to look after my family.

Eels forward Elsie Albert

With that, though, comes a responsibility to perform. Albert concedes she has a long way to go in the NRLW as a leader and wants to achieve plenty more in the game. 

"I'm still trying to find my voice in a team," she said. I feel like players respect me as a leader and I don’t talk much but when I do everyone listens. I like that.

"It’s much easier in the Orchids because I get to speak my language and it’s easier to communicate with them. But I’m still working on how to express myself more in the NRLW. That’s one of my goals.

"I’ve been in the NRLW for four seasons now but still learning the game and there's always room for improvement. Parramatta are helping me with that a lot."