There is something pretty special about the Strange family.
Siblings Jasmin and Ethan Strange have come through the NSWRL pathways, while father John coached the Central Coast Roosters to the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership title in 2020.
Strange went on to coach the Sydney Roosters to the 2021 NRLW Premiership, while Jasmin plays NRLW with the Newcastle Knights after one season (2022) with the Roosters.
Ethan was Player of the Match for his hat-trick when the CABE NSW Under 19s won the Origin shield in Redcliffe in July, and this Sunday (13 August) makes is NRL debut for the Canberra Raiders.
That will make them the first father-daughter-son trio to play or coach in the NRL and NRLW.
“It’s something I didn’t realise until people brought it up with me,” Strange told nswrl.com.au
“When you think about it, it is special and it means a lot to all of us. For me I just enjoy coaching and never had any aspirations to reach the highest levels.
“The kids have always had a strong desire to reach the top so I’m very proud of them.”
Strange played in the Canterbury-Bankstown juniors and then lower grades with the Dragons before venturing to England and playing for four years with Featherstone Rovers, Sheffield Eagles and York Wasps.
His wife Adele currently runs the Central Coast Roosters Academy.
It is not always easy coaching your own flesh and blood but the Stranges have negotiated it well, with John encouraging them to strike out on their own if they wanted.
“I started coaching Ethan in the Under 6s and then Jazzy when she started playing.
“We’ve always been around Rugby League and sport. We’ve always been an active family … out surfing or skateboarding … we even built them a mini football field at home.
“Jazzy got approached by Knights (NRLW) this year and she took it up basically to forge her own path. I definitely would like to coach her again one day – but she wanted to establish herself first.
“With Ethan he was coming off contract with us (Roosters) when he was 17 and had quite a few clubs interested in him.
“He sat down with them and built a strong connection with Ricky (Stuart) straight away. We’ve brought our kids up to be independent and strong-minded.”
The Strange siblings each made names for themselves in the NSWRL pathways.
Jasmin played Harvey Norman Tarsha Gale Cup (Under 19s) for both the Central Coast Roosters and the Knights in 2022. She played in the Knights’ NSW Women’s Premiership side this year.
Ethan played UNE Harold Matthews Cup in 2021 and UNE SG Ball Cup in 2022 with Central Coast. He then moved to the Raiders this year, playing Jersey Flegg Cup (Under 21s) and debuting in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.
He will now start at centre when the Raiders head to AAMI Park to face Melbourne Storm in this weekend’s NRL Round 24 match.
