Gold Coast Titans signing on the verge of Wallaroo fame
A code-swapping rugby league and union wonder girl is not only a Gold Coast Titans NRLW star power signing - she is now a Wallaroos squad member.
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Code-swapping rugby league and rugby union wonder girl Destiny Brill is not only a Gold Coast Titans NRLW star power signing - she is now a Wallaroos squad member.
Brill, 18, and her mate from Marsden SHS April Ngatupuna have been caught in the Titans recruitment net as the club looks to make a splash for its historic entry into the NRLW later in the season.
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Brill, who within the space of seven days represented the Queensland State of Origin women’s league team and then the Queensland Reds in the Super W final, will play hooker in the Titans league squad being assembled by new coach Jamie Feeney.
But, remarkably, she is also a Wallaroos squad member after the national selectors noted her Super W form for the Reds as an inside centre and halfback.
Brill admits she was at times surprised at her swift elevation in both codes.
“All these opportunities which have been presented to me have come along fast, especially at my age,’’ Brill said.
For all her success in rugby, Brill grew up playing league from the age of four and she was excited to be a part of the Titans’ historic first NRLW squad.
“It will be a great opportunity,’’ Brill said.
Brill said it was not difficult to transition from one code to the next because halfback in rugby and dummy half in league were similar in that they were ball distributing roles.
Brill said there was no doubt that Marsden SHS, steeped in rugby league tradition, had played a role in levering her toward the success she had enjoyed.
“Marsden helped a lot with my fitness, speed and agility,’’ Brill said, highlighting the role Asako Ono and Ian Carapeto had played in her off field development.
And of course Marsden SHS was where she met celebrated Queensland Super W player Cobie-Jane Morgan, a teacher who became Brill’s on field mentor at both Reds and club level at Easts.
“It felt like a family here at Marsden SHS,’’ she said.
Brill will be joined in the Titans NRLW squad by prop April Ngatupuna, who was a teammate of Brill in Titans Cup rugby league last season when they played for Marsden SHS.
Ngatuouna’s career ramped up when she moved to Marsden SHS from New Zealand for the 2020 Titans Cup season.
“I am grateful and thankful for this opportunity,’’ Ngatupuna said.
“It is really exciting. It will be hard, but I am excited to go through those challenges and see where I will go.’
Ngatupuna said playing for the Reds was another wonderful experience which she was grateful for.
“It is overwhelming. Sometimes I get shocked as to how far I have come and what I have been exposed to,’’ Ngatupuna said.
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