Harvey Norman NSW Sky Blues vice-captain Isabelle Kelly has earned a promotion at her NRLW club – the Sydney Roosters – and will lead the team for the 2022 campaign starting on Saturday.
Kelly and her teammates formed a guard of honour ahead of former Dally M Medal winner James Tedesco leading his side out onto the SCG for his 200th NRL game against the Cowboys last weekend.
It was also announced that day that Kelly would take over from good friend and Sky Blues teammate Corban Baxter as skipper, who will miss the upcoming season as she is expecting her second child.
It’s an honour for Kelly as the Roosters prepare to defend their 2021 Premiership but the 25 year-old knows all about pressure, expectation and performing under both.
She was named the Nellie Doherty Medal winner as “Player of the Match” after scoring a try in the Sky Blues’ 20-14 win over the Maroons in the 2022 Ampol State of Origin in Canberra.
She was deputy to Sky Blues captain Kezie Apps for that game and has played in every Origin since the Interstate Challenge was re-branded by the NRL in 2018. Coincidentally Kelly won the Nellie Doherty Medal in that inaugural 16-10 win.
Captaincy is not completely alien to her either. Kelly was skipper for the 2021 Central Coast Roosters side, which claimed the minor premiership in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership competition.
But she feels she is a more well-rounded and resilient player these days.
“I definitely feel like I’m ready. I’ve gone through the adversities and struggles in my career to grow as a player and individual to handle this next opportunity,” Kelly told NRL.com
Like many players, she’s had to learn to battle injuries – most notably a lingering ankle injury in 2020.
“From the hard times you always learn how to be stronger in hard situations and I’ve done the work to become more resilient,” she said.
“I now use it all as motivation and drive, for me to be a better player. I know what I’m capable of and know what I can do and just want to showcase that.”
The Roosters begin their 2022 NRLW campaign taking on the Eels at CommBank Stadium on Saturday 20 August, where Kelly faces Sky Blues teammates Simaima Taufa, Tiana Penitani, Filomina Hanisi, and from pervious Origin teams, Kennedy Cherrington and Vanessa Foliaki.
