Isabelle Kelly is living proof that persistence and perseverance has no failure.
Having enjoyed a stunning rise to Rugby League stardom last season, Kelly was one of eight Jillaroos stars to have played in the opening round of the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership, part of the CRL Newcastle team that played South Sydney at Redfern.
While she hasn’t enjoyed an extensive lay-off since November 2016, the dynamic Australian centre has consolidated her reputation as one of the elite players, with her family ties being the cornerstone of her motivation throughout a gruelling schedule.
“My family is the thing for me, I lost my mum when I was younger so that’s a massive part because she never got to see me play rugby league,” Kelly tells NSWRL.com.au.
“So just to hopefully be a part of the first Women’s NRL premiership at the end of the year. that will just be a massive highlight for me and even being here [on the first weekend of the Harvey Norman Women’s competition] is such a big thing.”
"So many people have to come to watch so it’s amazing and it’s really good to have Women’s Rugby League [make] its mark at the moment.”
The World Cup was viewed by many as a changing of the guard for the women’s game - the pinnacle moment in the development of professional female athletes and aspiring Rugby League players.
For a young player like Kelly, whose pathway to Rugby League was different to many, playing alongside experienced campaigners such as Ruan Sims and Kezie Apps has seen her develop into a world-class athlete, on and off the field.
And for a relatively young side, Kelly’s big-game experience will be crucial to the success of the newly-formed CRL Newcastle outfit in 2018.
“There’s so many good leaders in the team, even like Lavina [O'Mealey] from Souths, they just have so much advice that you can take on board. I know that I’ve grown myself as a player so it’s great to have those girls around.
“We have a lot of leaders in our team here, we all listen to each other and if we got a bit of advice we can all feed off each other and I know that if some girls tell me there is something I can improve on then I’ll definitely try and improve on so we all have a bit of a role which is really good."
Despite a crushing loss to the Rabbitohs in their opening clash on Saturday afternoon, Kelly is aware that her side will take time to develop their combinations before stamping their dominance in the competition.
While it’s a work in progress, Kelly remains confident her team has the tools to compete with the genuine contenders, and with the squad boasting X-factor talent such as 2017 Player of the Year Caitlin Moran and speedster Cassie Ormsby, the Novocastrians have plenty to look forward to in 2018.
“A few of us have been together before but it’s just all about gelling [together] and at the end of the day that’s what we need to go back to training and work on,” she said.
“They took it out of us, they ran hard early and we just have to work on a few defensive things but that’s what happens at this time of year so we know we can improve as well.”
As for Kelly, the sky is the limit of the 21-year-old as she looks to make 2018 her best season yet.
“Just for myself it’s about keeping fit and making sure I’m doing the right recovery, it’s a massive year of footy,” she said.
“We have City vs Country, NSW vs Queensland so it’s just massive year coming and it’s about making sure I’m doing all the one-percenters.”
PHOTO: Country Rugby League
