She’s played AFLW and is a sevens superstar. Now Levi wants 15-a-side rugby … and then rugby league

Fresh from defending her crown as Australia’s women’s sevens player of the year, Maddison Levi has shut down talk of an imminent move to NRLW and says she is open to trying to earn selection for the Wallaroos ahead of next year’s world cup in England.

Levi is one of the elite talents in sevens, scoring a record-breaking 14 tries in Australia’s recent Olympic campaign in Paris, which ended in a disappointing fourth-place finish. Levi confirmed that she was interested in a stint in the NRLW in the future but said that for now she was focused on leaving a legacy at Rugby Australia.

“I guess NRL is definitely in the sights in a couple of years’ time, or whenever that time is, but right now, I’m obviously signed [at RA] till 2026, and as I just said, we haven’t won a gold medal with the Olympics yet, so I’m definitely not stepping away from this sport,” Levi said.

“So whenever that time is, I’m definitely open to other doors, obviously having played AFLW and hopefully NRLW, but yeah, I really want to take home that medal and leave a legacy.”

The Herald revealed this week that Levi and her sister and fellow sevens star Teagan had been considering a move to the NRLW next year before Rugby Australia rejected the move, saying the pair should be available for the 15-a-side world cup.

Levi will soon travel to Dubai for the sevens world series at the end of November, and also spoke of the appeal of becoming a dual international for the Wallaroos after starring in the shortened version of the game.

Maddison Levi poses with the Shawn Mackay Award for Women’s Sevens Player of the Year Award during the 2024 Rugby Australia Awards Credit: Getty Images for Rugby Australia

“I think a dual international is something pretty special, and I think they’ve only just recently had chats about us sevens girls [switching], but I’ve also never played a game of 15s in my life, so who knows how I’d go, I might not even make the team with Maya Stewart [women’s player of the year] out there carving up,” Levi said.

“So I think I’ve got to keep playing sevens at the moment, with the series coming up, and then maybe a dual international on the rise would be pretty awesome.”

Levi revealed that she was keen to be considered for the Wallaroos last season when the opportunity was first proposed and spoke of her interest in helping to grow the game.

“I think they had an expression of interest last year for girls that would play 15s and I put my name down straight away,” Levi said. “I think just the beauty to play, not just sevens, but 15s on an international level, is something pretty special.”

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