NRLW star Olivia Kernick overlooked for Jillaroos selection

Sydney Roosters star and women’s Dally M winner Olivia Kernick has been overlooked for Test selection as coach Brad Donald shakes up a squad which lost its last match to the Kiwis.

Fans have taken to social media expressing shock over Olivia Kernick’s axing from the Jillaroos after the Dally M Medallist was left out of the Australian squad for the upcoming Pacific Championships.

Less than 24 hours after winning her second NRLW title with the Roosters and scoring a double against Cronulla on grand final day, the 23-year-old was overlooked for the Test squad named on Monday afternoon.

Coach Brad Donald explained his decision was based on the balance of the squad and versatility, but it didn’t fly with fans who took to social media to slam the call.

Roosters life member and club historian Alan Katzmann called it ‘bewildering’.

“Bewildering is the word that best sums up the omission of Dally M Player of the Year Olivia Kernick from the Jillaroos squad,” he wrote on X.

Olivia Kernick scored a double in the grand final. Picture: Getty Images

“Dally M and RLPA Dream Team second rower. 165m average metres gained and 31 tackles average per game in the NRLW this season. No.1 back rower in the game.”

Comment sections on the Sydney Roosters account as well as on the official announcement on the Jillaroos Instagram page also filled with backlash after one of the biggest Test selection calls in years.

Bewildering is the word that best sums up the omission of Dally M Player of the Year Olivia Kernick from the Jillaroos squad.

Dally M and RLPA Dream Team second rower. 165m average metres gained and 31 tackles average per game in the NRLW this season. No.1 back rower in the game pic.twitter.com/aYrtln9jUI

— Alan Katzmann (@Katzo60) October 7, 2024

“No Kernick is a travesty”, read one comment on the Jillaroos announcement.

“How is the Dally M player of the year not selected?” read another.

Kernick played two games for the Jillaroos in last year’s Pacific Championships, but has developed into the best backrower in the game in 2024.

In announcing the team at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday, Donald explained NSW and Australia skipper Kezie Apps will start in the second row in place of Kernick after making her return to the field from a knee injury in the Prime Minister’s XIII game in Papua New Guinea this week.

It was a similar situation in the NSW Origin side this year with Kernick shifting to start at lock for all three games.

Eels forward Mahalia Murphy has also been named for her versatility and ability to play centre, making her comeback to the Jillaroos squad for the first time in nine seasons.

Kezie Apps has kept Kernick out of the Jillaroos. Picture: NRL Photos

“I think when you’ve got the captain in your position, it’s quite difficult and the versatility of Mahalia Murphy,” Donald said of his call to overlook Kernick.

“[Olivia] isn’t too far off it, she was on the bench for NSW this year as well and she will be the next one in if something goes down.

“There is some change but we’re the same as (Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga), we lost our first game in nine years last year against the Kiwi Ferns and they’re quite strong, they have great depth right through the NRLW competition.

What a season from Olivia Kernick 🏅🔥 pic.twitter.com/bz3Z70561T

— NRLW (@NRLWomens) October 2, 2024

“When players like that miss out it just shows how strong the women’s game is at the moment.”

Premiership teammate and Dally M hooker of the year Keeley Davis has also missed the call up, with Donald opting to hand debut Jillaroos jerseys to Cronulla hooker Quincy Dodd and Newcastle’s Olivia Higgins.

Parramatta fullback Abbi Church is also among the debutants after a wonderful season for the Eels that saw her finish second in the Dally M Medal tally.

Jaime Chapman was cut from the team that lost to New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images

Titans star Jaime Chapman has also been overlooked as well as Caitlan Johnston-Green and Kennedy Cherrington, while Sharks fullback Emma Tonegato is also missing from the squad but is due to get married.

It forms part of a changing of the guard for the Jillaroos after last year’s 12-6 loss to New Zealand in the final game of the Pacific Championships.

The loss snapped a 15-game winning streak.

“I’ve spoken to all of the incumbents, there’s five of them that didn’t make the squad and they’re all very disappointed,” Donald said.

“They know what they’ve got to work on to put their hand up for World Cup selection in two years time. They’re difficult calls to make but we make sure we make them.”

Originally published as NRLW star Olivia Kernick overlooked for Jillaroos selection