CAN’T KEEP HER DOWN: Tillett fights back after horror injury run
Tahlulah Tillett is fighting for the opportunity to make an NRLW - then State of Origin - debut more than two years in the making after a horror run of injuries.
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Tahlulah Tillett is fighting for the opportunity to make an NRLW debut more than two years in the making.
The 21-year-old playmaker is again on the comeback trail, training with the Northern Pride’s Queensland Cup team as she fights her way towards that long overdue debut.
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On Monday, she was one of 33 players named in the Queensland Female Performance Program, putting her on the radar for State of Origin.
“They’ve kept faith in me, they looked after me over the past two and a half years while I’ve been through those injuries, and it’s good to know they want me involved and I’ve been working very, very hard to get back here so I’m looking forward to it,” Tillett said.
It’s been a long time coming, as three consecutive knee injuries robbed her of two full rugby league seasons.
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In May, 2017, she had surgery on a torn lateral meniscus in her left knee which needed a six-month recovery.
She was supposed to be part of the inaugural NRLW season in 2018, but just three weeks after receiving one of the first contracts on offer she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, a 12-month recovery which robbed her of the opportunity to be part of history. But her path didn’t end at that heartbreak.
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She trained with the Pride to get back onto the field, again, but snapped her MCL, again in the right knee, just 14 minutes into her first game back on the field for West Brisbane Panthers in the SEQ Women’s competition.
As Tillett again finds herself deep into her path to recovery, she is driven by one clear goal: to get back on the field.
Tillett, a touch footy gun who has played for the past eight weeks, knows within herself the knee is fine – she’s done the work to come back again, and training with the Pride has helped – but the mental battle is one she has to conquer.
She’s already off to a good start with that battle.
“I was lucky in a way with the ACL and MCL where they actually happened in contact,” Tillett said.
“It wasn’t as if I sidestepped and the knee gave way. The way I look at it is my knees were fine before I was tackled.”
For now, Tillett’s focus is to get back on the field, play consistent footy and show what she can do.
Ultimately, that will be running out at Sunshine Coast Stadium as part of the Queensland Maroons, and before that for a potential North Queensland entry to the Queensland Rugby League’s new women’s competition, set to start in 2020.
TILLETT’S PRIDE FOR FNQ
When North Queensland gets the nod for a place in the QRL’s new statewide women’s rugby league competition, expect Tahlulah Tillett to be at the front of the line, banging on the door for a start.
While she’s stayed true to Wests Brisbane Panthers in the SEQ Women’s comp in the past, Tillett said she’d gladly jump at any chance to represent her home region.
“If North Queensland get a side in, I’ll play for them,” Tillett said. “I’m very proud to be from Cairns, and if there’s an opportunity to represent my home … I’d rather represent them than play for a southeast Queensland side.
“If there’s that opportunity, I’ll definitely stay in Cairns, train with the Pride and represent North Queensland.”
That could ultimately mean two Cairns products are steering the Cowboys around the park when they finally enter the NRLW, planned for 2023, with Townsville-based Maroons star Jenni-Sue Hoepper, the first female Dally M Award winner, one of the best halves in the game.
Originally published as CAN’T KEEP HER DOWN: Tillett fights back after horror injury run
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