NRL Pacific Championship: Jillaroos must make tough decisions after losing to Kiwi Ferns
The Jillaroos selected on loyalty against the Kiwi Ferns and it resulted in a mishmash of players, some out of form and some out of position.
NRLW
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For the first time since 2016, the Jillaroos have some reflecting to do.
Until Saturday night, the world champions hadn’t tasted defeat since 2016, which means most squad members hadn’t ever lost in the green and gold jersey.
Saturday’s 12-6 loss to New Zealand showed how far the women’s game has come in just one season, but is also likely to force some changes leading into 2024.
In the World Cup final last year, Australia absolutely wiped the floor with the Kiwi Ferns 54-4 after an undefeated run through the tournament.
But within the space of 12 months that gap has closed so significantly it will cause a seismic shift in the women’s game.
And to many within the inner sanctum it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
To outsiders it was assumed the Jillaroos were world beaters, a star studded team so stacked with talent they could not be touched.
Ahead of the Pacific Championships, loyalties were shown to World Cup squad members who did the job at Old Trafford in November last year, and to be fair they earned it.
However, it resulted in a mishmash of players, some out of form and some out of position, with little time to train together as a team.
But in the meantime, the Kiwis have been building, and developing some of the brightest talent in the game in Apii Nicholls, Annessa Biddle and Mele Hufanga.
Their impressive win has breathed new life into women’s international rugby league which will cause a ripple effect throughout the entire game.
And it’s been a wakeup call for the Australian staff.
It’s been a balancing act for Jillaroos coach Brad Donald, between planning for the future and rewarding his World Cup winners.
But with Saturday’s loss there needs to be some hard selection decisions made with a new focus towards the World Cup in 2025. Otherwise they risk getting left behind.
Players like St George Illawarra’s try-scoring sensation Teagan Berry, who was brought into the Jillaroos camp for the Pacific Championships but didn’t play, are part of the next generation that will take women’s rugby league into the future.
So too Newcastle’s two-time premiership winning halfback Jesse Southwell and rising Gold Coast star Rilee Jorgensen – teenagers who need developing but are tipped to wear the jersey long into the next decade.
Decisions made in the next 12 months will shape the next World Cup for the Jillaroos as the women’s game booms again.
Kiwis shock Jillaroos to end stunning 17 game win-streak
—Martin Gabor
There’s been a seismic shift in women’s rugby league with New Zealand ending seven years of heartbreak to stun Australia 12-6 in a monumental upset at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
A year after they were obliterated by 50 points in the World Cup final, a new-look Kiwi Ferns side got their revenge despite spending the majority of the match defending their own line.
The shock result comes two weeks after the Jillaroos beat their rivals by six points in Townsville, with rookie Tamika Upton saving them that night with two tries.
It looked like they were following the same script when Jaime Chapman opened the scoring after nine minutes, having grabbed a hat-trick in a losing side in the NRLW grand final.
But that’s as good as it got for the World Cup winners who were sloppy with the ball, completing just 38 per cent of their sets in the first half, with Upton denied a try by the Bunker.
The loss is a massive wakeup call for the Jillaroos who now face some big calls ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with Knights young gun Jesse Southwell banging down the door for a shot in the halves.
CENTRE OF ATTENTION
Jillaroos pair Isabelle Kelly and Jess Sergis have dominated the position for the past few years, but wrecking ball Mele Hufanga has emerged as the most destructive centre in the world after another dominant display.
The Kiwi Ferns star made her NRLW debut with the Broncos this season and ended up being named in the Dally M Team of the Year, and that form hasn’t slowed down with Hufanga scoring a try in each of her three Tests this month.
It was her try on the stroke of half-time that breathed life into the contest when she came back against the grain and powered over, and it was her desperation to swoop on a loose pass that swung momentum late in the game, although she was forced off for an HIA after copping a high shot from Kezie Apps as she was brought down.
KIWIS SOAR
They were embarrassed in last year’s World Cup final, but the future is bright for New Zealand who made bulk changes to that squad and reaped the rewards on Saturday evening.
They could have hit the lead six minutes into the second half only for the Bunker to find an obstruction to deny Apii Nicholls.
However, the classy fullback would have the final say when she threw a lovely pass to Leianne Tufuga who crashed over in the corner, with Raecene McGregor nailing the sideline conversion to put them up by six.
It was another elite performance from McGregor who nailed a 40/30 in the first half and then returned from an HIA to steer them home.
Tufuga in the corner! 🔥#PacificChampionshipspic.twitter.com/5ruf7YTMQx
— NRLW (@NRLWomens) October 28, 2023
WHY DUAL-INTERNATIONAL WHITFELD MADE COWBOYS SWITCH
—Pamela Whaley
Jakiya Whitfeld always hoped she’d pull on the green and gold for Australia again, but she never dreamt it would happen so soon.
North Queensland’s newest recruit will make her debut for the Jillaroos at AAMI Park on Saturday, capping off a whirlwind second season of rugby league.
The 22-year-old played for Australia in the World Series Sevens back in 2019, but left the RA program to join the NRLW in 2022 with Newcastle.
But her career caught fire this year with the Wests Tigers, where she announced herself as one of the most exciting players in the competition, finishing the season as a Dally M Winger of the Year, selected for the Prime Minister’s XIII side and now a Test debut with the Jillaroos.
She was called in to replace experienced winger Julia Robinson to face New Zealand on Saturday night.
“It’s a dream come true and a really special end to the season,” she says.
“I’m just taking it all in at the moment.
“I don’t think I have (reflected on the season yet).
“I only had a week off after the PM’s XIII game and I was straight back to work.
“I was just settling down and then got the call. Looking back to the year I had last year (with the Knights) and to compare it to this year, so much has happened and I’ve achieved so many incredible things and it’s been so crazy.
“After transitioning from sevens to rugby league, I never knew if I would get the opportunity to pull on the green and gold jersey again. For me it felt pretty far away for that to happen, for that to happen in the next year is just crazy to me.”
HEADING NORTH
A three-year deal with the Cowboys from next season is a win in so many ways for Whitfeld.
It comes with a job opportunity to work with the club’s community team, as well as the chance to transition from the wing to play fullback.
“I’d really like to play fullback, I’m going in to the season really open,” she says.
“I played on the wing this year but I really do think that I have a lot more to give and I’d like to get more opportunity to get my hands on the ball in more open space.
“I’d love that opportunity, and hopefully I get that chance up there at fullback or even centre.
“We’ll see what happens and how I sit in the group, because that’s the most important thing, what the group needs. I’ll fit in where I’m needed.”
For the Bathurst-raised speedster, the move to Townsville also means the end of a string of casual jobs she works in the community and care industries to support her football.
She’ll be working with Cowboys House, a boarding facility for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from remote communities to attend secondary schooling in Townsville.
“This year I knew it would be tough juggling jobs but it was necessary, and I needed to keep hold of them all,” she says.
“A lot of the girls do it, but it’s a huge workload and it does take a toll.”
FEELING THE LOVE
It wasn’t an easy decision to leave the Tigers, but it’s the best one for her life and career.
“I loved my season at the Tigers, they’ve an amazing club and all the girls there are awesome, but I got this opportunity up at the Cowboys and I decided I wanted to take it,” she says.
“I’ve been in Sydney since I was 18 with Aussie Sevens, and to get the chance to get out of Sydney and go to North Queensland, plus the work up there is something I was super excited about, working with the community team at Cowboys House.”
While in camp for the Prime Minister’s XIII squad earlier this month, she spoke to Cowboys skipper Tallisha Harden about the move.
Her response cemented Whitfeld decision.
“I got to spend a bit of time with her in camp at the PMs and she’s probably the nicest person I’ve ever met,” Whitfeld says.
“When I let her know the opportunity that I had, she was so excited for me, and I’ve never really felt that before, someone so excited for someone else’s opportunity.
“I felt so much love. I knew if I made the move to Queensland I would have so much support and love up there.”
Originally published as NRL Pacific Championship: Jillaroos must make tough decisions after losing to Kiwi Ferns
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