Rugby league convert excited to swap Queensland for Las Vegas 9s
League convert shares her remarkable journey from country Queensland and cattle mustering to the bright lights of Vegas. See inside Kayla Jackson’s amazing journey here.
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There’s no questioning Kayla Jackson’s passion and commitment to rugby league.
Just a few years ago Jackson would make a 10-hour, 1000km round trip twice a week to train and the same trip to play footy on weekends.
Leaving the western Queensland town of Roma at lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursday, Jackson would travel to Brisbane – returning home around midnight before rising just a few hours later to go to work in a job far more demanding than any league match.
“There was only rugby sevens at Roma. We’d travel weekly to the (Darling) Downs region and we only had about two home games a year,” Jackson said.
“At one stage I was working at a feedlot in Roma and I was travelling twice a week to Brisbane on a Tuesday and Thursday night.
“I would work at lunchtime, travel down, train, get back around midnight and then get up around four or five o’clock in the morning to be out on horse and muster (cattle) the whole day.
“I’ve gone from having to travel and risk it all to having it right at my backdoor in the same town I live in, travelling five minutes to training.”
Home is Toowoomba now with Jackson part of the Western Clydesdales inaugural BMD Premiership squad last year.
Jackson scored seven tries in 10 games for the Clydesdales and averaged 79 run metres a game.
The Clydesdales stunned crowds throughout the season before losing 22-4 to Mackay Cutters in their first ever semi-final appearance.
Shortly after the end of the BMD Premiership season switched Toowoomba for Sydney.
“I got a call from my manager and he asked me to pretty much within three days to pack up my life and move to Sydney to be part of the Sydney Roosters top-24 squad which was amazing working alongside them.”
Jackson will feature in the BMD again this year but before she wears Clydesdales sky blue she has another league assignment – the Las Vegas 9s tournament.
“I got the call up from an old coach that coached me when I played QAS Sevens, Lawrence (Faifua) was one of my coaches then and he coaches some of the Bond University squads,” Jackson said.
“He said he ‘I’ve picked a squad, a really talented group of girls I’d love you to join and we will go to Vegas’.
“It’s really exciting for me in just my second year of rugby league.
“It’s a great platform, a good opportunity for everyone going over there.
“The (player) talent, the athletes, the crowds and atmosphere is going to be phenomenal.
“It’s all been very quick and sometimes I kind of forget how lucky I am to go from club level to such a big stage.
“I have a lot of times where I realise oh gosh I am really doing this.
“Obviously I have a lot more goals – an NRLW contract, State of Origin, the Jillaroos – I’d love to do all that.
“Hopefully going across to the US, I can give it a real crack, give it to those top players and show them girls from country towns can make a big impact.”
Originally published as Rugby league convert excited to swap Queensland for Las Vegas 9s
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