Diesel mechanic, firefighter, paramedic: Off-field careers behind women’s State of Origin stars

Makenzie Weale could be Queensland’s secret weapon to dismantling the Blues on Thursday night. By day she fixes big rigs, one of several State of Origin stars who hold down every day jobs.

Her day job is fixing big rigs, which will come in handy against the NSW pack in Thursday night’s State of Origin.

Makenzie Weale, a 22-year-old heavy diesel mechanic based in Townsville, could be Queensland’s secret weapon to dismantling the Blues in a must-win game at Allianz Stadium.

The Cowboys forward is one of the more unknown faces among a field of big-name Origin stars who happen to hold down every day jobs as teachers, firefighters, paramedics and construction workers.

And after a complicated battle to get back on the field in 2025 following an extended lay-off with concussion symptoms, she’s been shifted from impact bench player in game one to starting prop against the Blues on Thursday night.

Such is her love for the intensity of the Origin arena.

Queensland State of Origin star Makenzie Weale

SHIFT WORKERS

While the women’s game is still semi-professional, side gigs and alternative careers are necessary to fill in time and wage gaps between October and June every year.

Even for Origin players, who earn $15,000 for each game of the series, which covers the week-long camp leading into the games, as well as payments to train and stand down from work during the series.

For Weale, that means burying her head in machinery on 10-hour shifts as a heavy diesel mechanic apprentice, rebuilding engines for military vehicles, trucks and earthmovers.

There was a time she was working on Bushmasters coming straight off the battlefields in Ukraine.

“It’s really interesting,” she says.

“When I’m not in season I do that full-time, but when I’m in season it’s very pulled back.

“I’ll wake up, go to the gym, come back home, get ready for work and then go to work. A full day without footy is 7am until 5pm, if I’m in season I’ll do 7 until 3. Do a couple of jobs there, fix some stuff, get cranky with some stuff that’s not going my way, and then if I’m in season I’ll come home, get ready for training and then go to training.

“Some days I do some training by myself or come home and chill out. They’re big days.”

“Leading into game one I worked a lot with a psych about how to come off the bench because I’m not used to it. You’re not always going to start and it’s something I needed to work on anyway,” she says.

“But I love starting. I love the first 20 minutes of a game where it’s just brute, rough footy, you’re not going to get many chances for linebreaks because everyone is full of energy.

“I love the hard hits, I love the grind of it. It’s so much fun.

“That’s what Origin is about, everyone has that bit of extra grunt in them. It’s rougher footy and I love that.”

HEAD GAMES

A shift to the starting forward pack marks an incredible achievement for Weale, who played just 35 minutes of last year’s NRLW season for the Cowboys.

It was a huge year for her.

In 2024 she made her Origin debut for the Maroons, but played just two games for the Cowboys after suffering symptoms from repeated concussions, which her neurosurgeon has put down to a freak occurrence.

The symptoms, which included vision problems, forced her to the sidelines and out of work for two months.

“It was a bigger mental challenge than I thought it would be,” she says of the time off.

Makenzie Weale has been shifted from impact bench player in game one to starting prop against the Blues. Picture: Getty Images

“I got into a bit of a funk because I was living by myself in Townsville, I couldn’t train and I wasn’t working. I kind of just thought I was OK but I was having these issues with my vision so I couldn’t work.

“I was literally doing nothing for a couple of months, which was tough.”

Cowboys coach Ricky Henry assured Weale her spot was safe, and after a lot of support from the club she’s recently extended her contract for another three years.

She’s been given the tick of approval from doctors to return to the field after a long time on the sidelines, and her first bit of contact came during the Origin camp earlier this year.

Which is why when Maroons coach Tahnee Norris told her she was shifting to the starting pack for game two after the 32-12 loss in the series opener, Weale was fighting back tears of gratitude.

Makenzie Weale came off the bench for the Maroons in the State of Origin series opener. Picture: Getty Images

Queensland were monstered by the NSW pack and Weale has the kind of tenacity to get hold of a game early.

“It’s funny, I sat down with Tahnee, and I was pretty unhappy with the way I played. I’m a harsh critic on myself and I wasn’t very happy with myself at all,” she said.

“But when she told me I would be starting, my voice cracked, I started to get a bit choked up. I told her I thought I was going to be back on the job site next week.

“Having the confidence from the coaches picked me up after the last game, and I had a rough run last year with concussions, so I think even going into that game I felt like I had something to prove, I hadn’t really played in a year.

“You always strive for a Queensland jersey but to get the starting spot is something special.”