When Jocelyn Kelleher started playing rugby league four years ago, there were far less opportunities for young girls to progress through an elite female pathway, let alone play the game.
After being scouted by John Strange, the young halfback was catapulted into the Roosters women’s squad with limited rugby league experience, making her NRLW debut just a few short months after her initial interaction with the Head Coach.
Now, with 18 NRLW games under her belt, Kelleher is playing an important role in ensuring the next generation of women in league feel seen and understood through her assistant coaching role for the Central Coast Roosters Lisa Fiaola Cup team.
“It’s about giving the girls opportunities that I never got to have,” she explained.
“I only started playing when I was 20 and I never had any opportunities before that to play.
“I also really wanted to get our pathways consistent, teaching them what we know so that when they come up, we’re all playing the same way.
“It’s really rewarding to be able to pass on the knowledge from what I have learnt to the younger generation.”
Inspired by none other than Strange, Kelleher says she definitely wouldn’t be where she is today, as a player and a mentor, without the Premiership-winning coach.
“As a half, I like to know that I'm being coached by a Strangey, who was half as well,” she said.
I think visibility is so important, the girls love that they can see women in the rugby league space, whether that’s as a player or a coach.
Jocelyn Kelleher On the rise of female representation in rugby league.
“I guess you have to learn all the positions at times and all their roles as well, so I feel like I’m pretty across the board of knowledge about all the positions and I'm glad that I can help others.
“I actually have my sports trainer accreditation too, so I took up the blue shirt as well as the assistant coaching role for both the Lisa Fiaola and NSW Country Under 17s girls.”
The playmaker actively promotes rugby league to young girls on the Central Coast, a job which she says is not only rewarding, but humbling.
“It’s really special, I work with the NRL going into schools and stuff,” Kelleher said.
“I feel like it’s crucial for girls to see that we can go all the way and you can get a job playing footy and work in the rugby league space for the NRL, that they do have a future in it.
“Whereas a couple of years ago, I never saw women playing league, so it's good to be that example and be that role model that can show them that they can do anything with the opportunities that they have now.”
