Brigginshaw wants to fill gap in junior girls development

Ali Brigginshaw is determined to provide opportunities that were denied to a young female footballer growing up in Ipswich.

Michael Nunn

Ipswich sporting favourite Ali Brigginshaw has been knocking on doors and forcing them open her whole life.

So when the National Rugby League Women’s (NRLW) season was moved to 2022, the Valleys, Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australian captain set about making sure she was busy for the rest of 2021.

Brigginshaw saw an opportunity and was determined to provide guidance that was denied to a young Ali growing up in Ipswich.

The idea of an academy was one that had intrigued Brigginshaw and when the chance came up Brigginshaw swooped on it like a loose ball out of scrum.

The Ali Brigginshaw Academy will provide young girls aged 12-17 a chance to learn how to train alongside Brigginshaw and her personal trainer and Ipswich Jets strength and conditioning coach and Ipswich State High teacher Jonathan Dore.

“I see a real gap in the market for girls’ fitness and training effectively,” Brigginshaw said.

“I think I could have been a more effective leader and captain earlier if I had been shown how to be fit to play rugby league.

“No one ever showed me how to train and I see so many girls that go away from sport at this age.

“They may have the skills but they just don’t know the fitness level required to play.

“I want to help young girls in Ipswich be really fit and then they can play and be able to execute those skills.

“I didn’t do a weight until I was 17 or 18, I didn’t go to the gym.

“I just didn’t know what to do and I see a lot of girls like that.

“There is no footy now so how do we prepare and make sure we have girls staying in sport and staying healthy over the off-season.”

Strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Dore is assisting Ali Brigginshaw. Picture: David Lems

Brigginshaw’s offsider Dore is enthusiastic about what he can achieve with Brigginshaw.

“It’s pretty exciting,’’ Dore said.

“The thing that I have noticed in the two years I have been training Ali is that she wants to get better.

“She doesn’t rest and think that’s enough, it’s all about what can I do next to improve.

“While she’s improving she’s looking at ways to advance other girls too.

“She said at the start I haven’t done weights before but she’s worked hard and her strength is improving all the time.

“We have 30 girls at the moment signed up and we are hoping to get to 50 that would be fantastic.

“Ali wants to make sure young girls have an opportunity that she didn’t have and this age group will be the next NRLW players and BHP players in Queensland.”

Brigginshaw helps at State High with the girls program. The top team contested Wednesday’s Karen Murphy Cup final.

Watch the final here

Brigginshaw knows what she wants to achieve at the end of the six-week course.

“I want to see young girls come together, be fit to play rugby league and enjoying each other’s success,’’ she said.

That door that was once closed for a 13-year-old Ali in Ipswich is a little bit further open then it was because of the work Brigginshaw is doing.