By Billie Eder
Sheridan Gallagher had only played two games of rugby league, but Newcastle coach Ronald Griffiths knew he wanted her in his team.
“I watched her play on some clips for the Mounties [in the NSWRL women’s competition]. I watched her have a couple of runs and her movement, and I was immediately drawn to her,” Griffiths said.
“I thought she had potential to be a really good player because she’s been in a high-performance system before.”
Sheridan Gallagher is in the NRLW final for the Knights in her first year in rugby league.Credit: Chris Elfes
The 21-year-old former Western Sydney Wanderer was on a very different trajectory just 13 months ago, when she captained the Young Matildas at the under-20s Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
The Wanderers’ head of women’s football Tom Sermanni said Gallagher had the potential to go even further.
“If she liked, she could probably play rugby league, rugby union, AFL and football. She’s got the prerequisite skill and physical qualities for all the major ball sports,” Sermanni said.
“She was the captain of the Young Matildas, which is a pretty impressive resume to start with. And I think when you look across the board, the key players that play for the Young Matildas, a big majority of them go on and play for the senior Matildas. She was certainly a player that had the raw materials to be an elite footballer.”
But Gallagher fell out of love with the game, and asked her manager to tee up something in rugby league.
Two games in the NSW Women’s Premiership later, and she signed a one-year contract with Newcastle.
“I never played league as a kid, I watched Newcastle last year and sort of thought, ‘I’ll give it a go one day,’ but never thought too much more about it,” Gallagher said.
“And then towards the end of the soccer season I just played a couple of [league] games and really enjoyed it, so that’s where it sort of took off from there.”
With 10 NRLW games under her belt, Gallagher is heading into her first grand final on Sunday when the Knights take on the Titans at Accor Stadium.
“[I’m] pumped. I never thought that I’d be sitting here playing in an NRLW grand final,” she said.
“The culture that they’ve implemented here is honestly a credit to the girls and Ronald. I haven’t felt out of place or anything like that, so I’m really grateful for that.”
With six tries from 10 games, Gallagher has quickly settled into not only the club, but also the sport.
“I think there are a lot of transferable skills [from soccer]. It doesn’t take much to be professional and just be on time and do the right things,” she said.
“On field, those skills are pretty different in a way, but it’s all a learnt skill, and if you’re willing to learn and put your mind to it, you’re going to pick it up and go a long way.”
With her contract set to end after Sunday, a question mark hangs over what she plans to do next year, but she’d like to remain at Newcastle.
“I’d definitely love to stay here and make this home, but we’ll see.”
Watch the NRLW Grand Final Exclusive Live and Free on Channel 9 and 9Now.
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