NRLW 2023: Latest player signings, contract news ahead of new season

Jail guard Georgie Brooker works among the meanest and worst criminals in the country — and she’s desperate to return to the elite level of sport.

Correctional officer Georgie Brooker wants another crack at the NRLW. Picture: David Swift

This is the female correctional officer at Long Bay’s maximum security prison for men who wants to play in the NRLW competition – and she won’t be denied.

Georgie Brooker, 30, plays front-row for St George in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership but is seeking a return to the next-level NRLW, where she represented St George Illawarra Dragons in 2018.

And if any NRLW club is searching for toughness this season, look no further than the fiercely determined Brooker, who works among the meanest and worst criminals in NSW.

Brooker says the challenges of her dangerous work helps during tough periods of a football match.

“It’s a maximum security jail for a reason – they (the inmates) are some of the hardest criminals in the NSW corrective services system,” Brooker said.

“It is challenging, for sure. You have to be alert and vigilant all day, every day. When it comes down to female to male, it’s how you treat them as a person. If you give them respect, you will get respect back.

Correctional officer Georgie Brooker wants another crack at the NRLW. Picture: David Swift

“They are criminals, at the end of the day, and I’m there to do a job. It can be mentally tough job and you have to be ‘on’ every day. You can’t really switch off because of what you’re dealing with.

“I manage but my job varies day-to-day. I have been here for nearly five years and I enjoy it, 100 per cent.

“Some days I walk out and want to go home to bed or sit on the lounge but I can’t – I have to go to footy training and train hard. You have to go to the gym and get the work done outside of work.

“The resilience that I’ve got through the scenarios and situations I’ve been in at the jail definitely makes you enjoy that mental switch off on the footy field.

“I go: ‘If I could deal with that ten hours ago in the jail, why can’t I deal with someone running at me in the football field?’ When I leave work, I try to focus on being the best I can for my footy team each week.”

Teammates described Brooker as a “workhorse”. She has averaged 58 minutes a game in the middle this season, averaging 11 carries and 23 tackles. She has previously represented Helensburgh, Cronulla-Caringbah, Cronulla Sharks and St Marys.

Georgie Brooker played NRLW for the St George Illawarra Dragons in 2018. Picture: David Swift

The 2023 NRLW has expanded to 10 teams – meaning more opportunities.

“With there now being ten teams in the NRLW, there are more chances. I have been playing with and among the best players for the last ten years,” Brooker said.

“I train the same amount as them (NRLW players) and work just as hard so why not? Why can’t I have an opportunity to play at the higher level? I had a taste of it back in 2018 and since then I have continued to play and build my game.

“I like to make those hard metres and do the nitty-gritty work. On the weekend, I played 67 minutes for St George against the Bears as a middle. I’m getting through the work as a 30-year-old through pure heart and passion.

“Footy for me is a lot more than just sport, it’s my outlet. It keeps me physically and mentally fit.”

Brooker’s manager Scott Longmuir said: “Georgie would be an asset to any club. She is one of those players that every team needs — a workaholic who will do her team’s dirty work, like put her hand up to take the first hit-up from the goal line to get her team out of trouble.

“She will keep turning up in defence to make her tackles, no matter how torrid the game is — basically do all the s..t jobs to make her team successful.”

Brooker added: “We haven’t won a game this season but we don’t have any NRLW-contracted players. We will keep turning up and I try to help the girls grow and rise to the next level.

“I started playing when I was six and stopped when I was 12 and have been playing opens’ women’s since I was 18.”

Originally published as NRLW 2023: Latest player signings, contract news ahead of new season