Australia women's national rugby league team

For the men's team, see Australia national rugby league team.

The Australia women's national rugby league team, also known as the Australian Jillaroos, or Harvey Norman Jillaroos for sponsorship reasons,^[2] represents Australia in women's rugby league. They played their first formal international in 1995 under the administration of the Australian Women's Rugby League. The AWRL affiliated with the Australian Rugby League in the late 1990s, with AWRL reports included in ARL annual reports.^[3] Since the advent of the Australian Rugby League Commission in February 2012, the team has been administered by that body and the National Rugby League.

Australian Jillaroos

Team information
Nickname	The Jillaroos
Governing body	Australian Rugby League Commission
Region	Asia-Pacific
Head coach	Jess Skinner
Captain	Kezie Apps Ali Brigginshaw
Most caps	Tahnee Norris (32)
Top try-scorer	Isabelle Kelly (19)
Top point-scorer	Isabelle Kelly (76)
IRL ranking	1 (21 July 2025)[1]
Uniforms
First colours Second colours
Team results
First international
Australia 14-18 New Zealand  (Lidcombe Oval, Sydney, 1 July 1995)
Biggest win
Australia 92–0 France  (York, England; 6 November 2022)
Biggest defeat
Australia 6-50 New Zealand  (England; 18 November 2000)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (first time in 2000)
Best result	Champions (2013, 2017, 2021)

The Australian Jillaroos are current world champions, having won the last three Women's Rugby League World Cup tournaments. Their first World Cup victory came in the fourth tournament, in 2013.^[4][5][6][7] The Jillaroos won on home soil in 2017 and again in the postponed 2021 tournament held in November 2022. Appointed in February 2025, the current head coach of the Jillaroos is Jess Skinner.^[8]

Matches have been broadcast on free-to-air networks since 2014 (Nines) and 2015 (Test Match).^[9][10][11]

The Jillaroos squad is selected by a panel of national selectors. There are specific tournaments and matches that act as selection trials.^[12] These include:

• The Women's State of Origin between Queensland and New South Wales teams.
• The NRL Women's Premiership
• All Stars match
• The National Championships
• Affiliated States Championships (VIC, SA, WA, NT)

Coaches

Full internationals

The current coach of the Australian team is Jess Skinner. After coaching the team on an interim basis in early 2025, Skinner was subsequently confirmed as coach through to the World Cup in October-November 2026.^[13][14] Previous coaches have included Paul Dyer, Graham Murray, and Steve Folkes.

Name	Span	M	W	D	L	W%	Ref.
	Graham Willard	1995	2	0	0	2	0.00%	[15][16]
John Taylor	1996–1997	5	1	0	4	20.00%	[17][18]
Mark Donkin	1998	2	2	0	0	100.00%
Wayne Portlock	1999–2000	7	1	0	6	14.29%	[19][20][21]
Graham Arndt and Damien Lindeburg	2001	1	0	0	1	0.00%	[22]
Terry Borland	2002	3	2	0	1	66.67%	[23]
Dave Leat	2003–07	10	5	0	5	50.00%	[24][25]
Karen Stuart	2008–09	7	5	0	2	71.43%	[26]
Graham Murray	2010–11	1	1	0	0	100.00%	[27]
Paul Dyer	2013	4	3	0	1	75.00%	[28]
Steve Folkes	2014–16	3	1	0	2	33.33%	[29]
Brad Donald	2017–2024	18	17	0	1	94.44%	[30][31]
Jess Skinner	2025–	1	1	0	0	100.00%	[8][13]

Notes

• Table last updated 16 May 2025.
• John Taylor was head trainer in 1995. Player recollection confirmed his involvement as head coach in 1996. The 1997 NZRL Annual records Taylor as Australia's head coach during the four-match tour.^[17]
• A report in the 2001 ARL Annual Report records that Graham Arndt and Daniel Lindeburg were joint coaches at a pre-tour training camp.^[22] Player recollection confirmed their involvement in Auckland where the one-off Test was played.

Nines

Name	Span	M	W	D	L	W%	Ref.
Steve Folkes	2015–16	6	2	0	0	33%
Brad Donald	2017–19	11	10	0	1	91%

Players

Main article: List of Australian Jillaroos team players

Current squad

The squad for the upcoming international against England in Las Vegas on 1 March 2025 was announced on 7 February 2025.^[8] Jersey numbers and positions were announced on 25 February 2025.^[32] Tallies in the table include the match against England on 1 March 2025.
Players' ages are as at the date that the table was last updated, 2 March 2025.

J#	Player	Age	Position(s)	Jillaroos						NRLW							Other Reps
				Dbt	M	T	G	F	Pts	2025 Club	CM	TM	T	G	F	Pts
1	Tamika Upton	27	Fullback	2023	6	11	0	0	44	Broncos	11	37	26	0	0	104	8 2
2	Jakiya Whitfeld	23	Wing	2023	5	6	0	0	24	Cowboys	9	20	10	0	0	40	1
3	Isabelle Kelly	28	Centre	2017	17	19	0	0	76	Roosters	41	43	17	0	0	68	13 1 3
4	Tiana Penitani	29	Centre	2019	5	4	0	0	16	Sharks	20	36	18	0	0	72	1 8 4
5	Julia Robinson	27	Wing	2018	10	18	0	0	72	Broncos	34	34	23	0	0	92	7
6	Ali Brigginshaw	35	Five-eighth	2009	26	7	23	0	74	Broncos	43	43	13	35	0	122	17 6 1
7	Tarryn Aiken	25	Halfback	2022	10	6	23	0	70	Roosters	19	38	14	1	1	59	8
8	Shannon Mato	26	Prop	2022	9	1	0	0	4	Titans	27	31	3	0	0	12	8 5
9	Olivia Higgins	32	Hooker	2024	4	0	0	0	0	Knights	28	35	11	0	0	44	3 2
10	Kezie Apps	34	Prop	2014	19	2	0	0	8	Tigers	10	29	7	0	0	28	14 2 7 2
11	Yasmin Clydsdale	30	Second-row	2022	10	0	0	0	0	Knights	28	39	12	0	0	48	8
12	Olivia Kernick	24	Second-row	2022	7	2	0	0	8	Roosters	34	34	13	0	0	52	6 3 2 2
13	Simaima Taufa	30	Lock	2014	18	0	0	0	0	Raiders	17	39	13	0	0	52	9 2 2
14	Quincy Dodd	24	Hooker	2024	2	0	0	0	0	Sharks	20	38	11	0	0	44	5 7 7 3
15	Jessica Sergis	27	Centre	2019	11	13	0	0	52	Roosters	23	33	20	0	0	80	10 3 1
16	Sarah Togatuki	27	Prop, Lock	2024	4	0	0	0	0	Tigers	16	35	6	0	0	24	1 8 4 1
17	Keilee Joseph	23	Lock, Second-row	2022	6	1	0	0	4	Broncos	10	32	3	0	0	12	4 5
18	Lauren Brown	29	Hooker, Halfback	2022	7	0	31	0	62	Titans	23	33	5	48	2	118	6 2
19	Jessika Elliston	27	Prop, Second-row	2023	2	0	0	0	0	Titans	31	36	5	0	0	20	7 1
20	Mahalia Murphy	31	Second-row, Centre	2015	3	3	0	0	12	Eels	18	21	6	0	0	24	1 5 1
21	Keeley Davis	24	Hooker	2018	7	1	0	0	4	Roosters	20	43	4	0	0	16	7 5 1

Notes:

• Two members of the squad have previously played for other nations:
  •  Samoa : Sarah Togatuki (in 2019).
  •  Tonga : Tiana Penitani (in 2023, having played for Australia in 2019).
• Eight of the 21 squad members have played for Queensland, twelve for New South Wales. The one player yet to play Origin, Whitfeld qualifies for New South Wales.
• The number of squad members with other representative credits are:
  • Indigenous All Stars 4 (Dodd, Joseph, Murphy, Upton)
  • Māori All Stars 1 (Mato)
  • NRL All Stars: 4 (Apps, Brigginshaw, Kelly and Taufa)
  • Prime Minister's XIII: 10
  • NSW City 6 (Dodd, Murphy, Penitani, Sergis, Taufa, Togatuki)
  • NSW Country 4 (Apps, Davis, Higgins, Kelly).

Hall of Fame

Main article: National Rugby League Hall of Fame

In August 2024 the NRL announced the induction of six former Jillaroos players into the National Rugby League Hall of Fame. This was the first induction of women since the inception of the Hall of Fame in 2008.^[33]

Inductee number	Player	National Team		State Team	Clubs	Ref
		Matches	Years
127	Natalie Dwyer	26	1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2011, 2013	NSW & Qld	Wollongong Wildcats, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Souths Logan Magpies	[34]
128	Katrina Fanning	24	1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004	NSW	Queanbeyan, Gungahlin Bulls, Boomanulla	[35]
129	Tarsha Gale	15	1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000	NSW	Bulli, South Sydney Rabbitohs	[36]
130	Veronica White	17	1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004	Qld & NSW	Ipswich Brothers	[37]
131	Karyn Murphy	28	1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013	Qld	Ipswich Brothers, Souths Logan Magpies	[38]
132	Tahnee Norris	33	1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013	NSW & Qld	Runaway Bay Seagulls, West Centenary, Burleigh Bears	[39]

Note: The lists of clubs in the above table is incomplete.

Records

As of 2 March 2025

Games played: 32

• Tahnee Norris

Points scored: 76

• Isabelle Kelly

Tries scored: 19

• Isabelle Kelly

Goals kicked: 31

• Lauren Brown

Points scored in a match: 24

• Julia Robinson (6 tries) vs  Papua New Guinea, Pacific Championships, 18 October 2024

Tries scored in a match: 6

• Julia Robinson vs  Papua New Guinea, Pacific Championships, 18 October 2024

Goals kicked in a match: 11

• Tarryn Aiken vs  England, International Test series, 2 March 2025

Competitive record

Head to head records

Opponent	FM	MR	M	W	D	L	Win%	PF	PA	Share
New Zealand	1995	2024	30	13	0	17	43.33%	473	604	43.92%
Great Britain	1996	2002	8	3	0	5	37.50%	100	111	47.39%
Fiji	1998	1998	2	2	0	0	100.00%	120	0	100.00%
New Zealand Māori	2003	2009	6	3	0	3	50.00%	90	104	46.39%
Niue	2003	2003	1	1	0	0	100.00%	58	0	100.00%
Samoa	2003	2011	2	2	0	0	100.00%	82	26	75.93%
France	2008	2022	3	3	0	0	100.00%	224	0	100.00%
Russia	2008	2008	1	1	0	0	100.00%	72	0	100.00%
England	2008	2025	4	4	0	0	100.00%	164	14	92.13%
Pacific Islands	2008	2008	1	1	0	0	100.00%	32	6	84.21%
Cook Islands	2017	2022	2	2	0	0	100.00%	132	4	93.55%
Canada	2017	2017	2	2	0	0	100.00%	146	6	96.05%
Papua New Guinea	2022	2024	2	2	0	0	100.00%	166	0	100.00%
Totals	1995	2025	64	39	0	25	60.94%	1,859	875	68.00%

Notes:

• Table last updated 2 March 2025.
• Share is the portion of "For" points compared to the sum of "For" and "Against" points.

Results

Full internationals

Date	Opponent	Score	Tournament	Venue	Video	Report(s)
1 Jul 1995	New Zealand	14 - 18	2 Test Series	Lidcombe Oval	—
8 Jul 1995	New Zealand	6 - 14		Hawker Oval, Canberra	—	[40]
21 Jul 1996	Great Britain	16 – 14	3 Test Series	Phillip Oval, Canberra	[41]	[42]
28 Jul 1996	Great Britain	12 – 18		Gilbert Park, Brisbane	—
3 Aug 1996	Great Britain	18 – 20		Redfern Oval, Sydney	[43]	[44][45][46]
20 Sep 1997	New Zealand	26 – 34	2 Test Series	Petone Recreation Ground, Wellington	—	[47][48]
24 Sep 1997	New Zealand	16 – 40		Carlaw Park,Auckland	—	[49]
19 Sep 1998	Fiji	68 – 0	2 Test Series	University of South Pacific, Suva	—	[50][51][52]
26 Sep 1998	Fiji	52 – 0			—	[53][54]
23 Sep 1999	New Zealand	10 – 20	3 Test Series	Leichhardt Oval	—	[55]
27 Sep 1999	New Zealand	22 – 20		Penrith Stadium	[56]	[57]
29 Oct 1999	New Zealand	14 – 26		Ericsson Stadium Auckland	—	[58]
10 Nov 2000	New Zealand	6 – 10	2000 World Cup	South Leeds Stadium	[59]	[60]
14 Nov 2000	Great Britain	10 – 14		Rams Stadium, Dewsbury	[61]	[62][63]
18 Nov 2000	New Zealand	6 – 50		Rams Stadium, Dewsbury	—	[47][64]
21 Nov 2000	Great Britain	0 – 4		The Jungle, Castleford	[65]	[66]
23 Sep 2001	New Zealand	8 – 42	Test Match	Carlaw Park, Auckland	—	[67][68]
14 Jul 2002	Great Britain	16 – 26	3 Test Series	Ringrose Park, Wentworthville	[69]	[70]
20 Jul 2002	Great Britain	14 – 10		ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	—	[71]
27 Jul 2002	Great Britain	14 – 5		Bruce Stadium, Canberra	[72]	[73][74]
8 Aug 2003	New Zealand Māori	20 – 14	Test Match	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	—	[75]
28 Sep 2003	New Zealand Māori	28 – 24	2003 World Cup	North Harbour Stadium	—	[76][77]
2 Oct 2003	Niue	58 – 0			—	[78]
6 Oct 2003	New Zealand	4 – 44			—	[79]
8 Oct 2003	Samoa	40 – 12			—	[80]
10 Oct 2003	New Zealand Māori	4 – 12			—	[81]
14 Aug 2004	New Zealand	12 – 38	2 Test Series	Bendigo Bank Oval, Ipswich	—	[82][83]
21 Aug 2004	New Zealand	20 – 30		Davies Park, Brisbane	[84]	[85]
31 Oct 2007	New Zealand Māori	20 – 16	2 Test Series	Rotorua	—	[86][87]
3 Nov 2007	New Zealand Māori	4 – 20		Rotorua	—	[88]
6 Nov 2008	France	60 – 0	2008 World Cup	Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast	—
8 Nov 2008	Russia	72 – 0			—
10 Nov 2008	England	22 – 4			—
12 Nov 2008	Pacific Islands	32 – 6			—
15 Nov 2008	New Zealand	0 – 34		Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	[89]
16 Sep 2009	New Zealand Māori	14 – 18	2009 Tour		—
23 Sep 2009	New Zealand	18 – 16		Ellerslie Domain, Auckland	—	[90]
3 Sep 2011	Samoa	42 – 14	Test Match	Apia Park, Apia	—	[91]
15 Oct 2011	New Zealand	Cancelled	Test Match	Gold Coast	—	[92]
5 Jul 2013	England	14 – 6	2013 World Cup	The Tetley's Stadium, Dewsbury	[93]	[94]
8 Jul 2013	France	72 – 0		Post Office Road, Featherstone	[95]
11 Jul 2013	New Zealand	6 – 14		Fox's Biscuits Stadium, Batley	[96]
14 Jul 2013	New Zealand	22 – 12		Headingley, Leeds	[97]
9 Nov 2014	New Zealand	8 – 12	Test Match (4NCR)	WIN Stadium, Wollongong	[98][99]	[100]
3 May 2015	New Zealand	22 – 14	Anzac Test	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	—	[101]
6 May 2016	New Zealand	16 – 26	Anzac Test	Hunter Stadium, Newcastle	—	[102][103][104]
5 May 2017	New Zealand	16 – 4	Anzac Test	GIO Stadium, Canberra	[105]
16 Nov 2017	Cook Islands	58 – 4	2017 World Cup	Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney	[106]
19 Nov 2017	England	38 – 0			[107]	[108][109]
22 Nov 2017	Canada	88 – 0			[110]	[111]
26 Nov 2017	Canada	58 – 6			[112]
2 Dec 2017	New Zealand	23 – 16		Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	[113]	[114][115]
13 Oct 2018	New Zealand	26 – 24	Trans-Tasman Test	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	[116]	[117]
25 Oct 2019	New Zealand	28 – 8	Trans-Tasman Test	WIN Stadium, Wollongong	[118]	[119]
2 Nov 2022	Cook Islands	74 – 0	2021 World Cup	York Community Stadium, York	[120]	[121][122]
6 Nov 2022	France	92 – 0			[123]	[124][125]
10 Nov 2022	New Zealand	10 – 8			[126]	[127][128]
14 Nov 2022	Papua New Guinea	82 – 0			[129]	[130][131]
19 Nov 2022	New Zealand	54 – 4		Old Trafford, Manchester	[132]	[133][134]
14 Oct 2023	New Zealand	16 – 10	2023 Pacific Champs	Qld Country Bank Stadium, Townsville	[135]	[136]
28 Oct 2023	New Zealand	6 – 12		AAMI Park, Melbourne	[137]	[138][139]
18 Oct 2024	Papua New Guinea	84 – 0	2024 Pacific Champs	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	[140]	[141]
27 Oct 2024	New Zealand	14 – 0		Rugby League Park, Christchurch	[142]	[143]
10 Nov 2024	New Zealand	24 – 4		Commbank Stadium, Sydney	[144]	[145]
1 Mar 2025	England	90 – 4	RL Las Vegas	Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas	[146]	[147]

Upcoming fixtures

•  Samoa and  New Zealand in the 2025 Rugby League Pacific Championships in October-November.
• A previously announced plan to conclude a Women's rugby league Ashes series begun with the 1 March 2005 match with two further matches against England in October has been dropped.^{[148][13][14]}

Other international matches

Date	Opponent	Score	Tournament	Venue	Video	Report(s)
4 Nov 2017	Papua New Guinea	42 – 4	Curtain-raiser to men's PM's XIII	National Football Stadium	—	[149]
6 Oct 2018	Papua New Guinea	40 – 4	Women's PM's XIII match	National Football Stadium	[150]
11 Oct 2019	Fiji	22 – 14	Women's PM's XIII match	ANZ National Stadium, Suva	[151]	[152]
25 Sep 2022	Papua New Guinea	64 – 6	Women's PM's XIII match	Suncorp Stadium	[153]	[154][155]
23 Sep 2023	Papua New Guinea	56 – 4	Women's PM's XIII match	National Football Stadium	[156]	[157][158]
13 Oct 2024	Papua New Guinea	50 – 0	Women's PM's XIII match	National Football Stadium	[159]	[160][161]

Nines

Date	Opponent	Score	Tournament	Venue	Video	Report(s)
31 Jan 2015	New Zealand	4 – 8	2015 Auckland Nines	Eden Park, Auckland	—
1 Feb 2015		4 – 16			—
		8 – 7			[162]
6 Feb 2016		11 – 4	2016 Auckland Nines		[163]	[164]
7 Feb 2016		0 – 9			[165]	[166]
		7 – 21			[167]	[168]
4 Feb 2017		20 – 4	2017 Auckland Nines		[169]
5 Feb 2017		8 – 0			[170]
		14 – 4			—
23 Feb 2018	Samoa	26 – 4	2018 Commonwealth Championship	Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe	—	[171]
	Fiji	24 – 0			—
24 Feb 2018	Cook Islands	14 – 8			—	[172]
	Samoa	14 – 8			—
18 Oct 2019	New Zealand	22 – 8	2019 International Nines	Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta	[173]
19 Oct 2019	England	42 – 4			[174]
	Papua New Guinea	30 – 6			[175]
	New Zealand	15 – 17			[176]	[177]

Individual awards

Since 2015 a Female Player of the Year award has been included in the Dally M Awards.

Year	Player	Rep Teams	NRL Club	State Club	References
2015	Jenni-Sue Hoepper	Jillaroos QLD	—	Townsville Brothers	[178]
2016	Kezie Apps	Jillaroos NSW	—	Helensburgh Tigers	[179][180]
2017	Simaima Taufa	Jillaroos NSW	—	Mounties	[181]
2018	Brittany Breayley	Jillaroos QLD	Brisbane Broncos	Ipswich Brothers	[182]
2019	Jessica Sergis	Jillaroos NSW	St George-Illawarra Dragons	Helensburgh Tigers	[183]
2020	Ali Brigginshaw	QLD[nb 1]	Brisbane Broncos	Ipswich Brothers	[184]
2021 [nb 2]	Millie Boyle	NSW	Brisbane Broncos	Burleigh Bears	[185]
	Emma Tonegato	—	St George-Illawarra Dragons	—
2022	Raecene McGregor	Kiwi Ferns	Sydney Roosters	North Sydney Bears	[186]
2023	Tamika Upton	QLD Jillaroos[nb 3]	Newcastle Knights	Newcastle Knights	[187]
2024	Olivia Kernick	NSW	Sydney Roosters	Tweed Seagulls	[188]

1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia the interstate match was postponed from June to November, after the presentation of the award in October
2. The award for the 2021 Season, which was held between 27 February and 10 April 2022, was tied with duel winners announced.
3. Upton played for Australia in October, after the presentation of the award in late September

IRL Rankings

IRL Women's World Rankings v t e
Official rankings as of July 2025
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
1		Australia	100
2		New Zealand	71
3		England	46
4		France	27
5		Papua New Guinea	25
6		Wales	19
7	1	Greece	17
8	1	Ireland	16
9	1	Cook Islands	14
10	1	Canada	14
11	3	United States	13
12	1	Samoa	12
13		Netherlands	10
14	2	Serbia	9
15		Tonga	8
16		Fiji	7
17		Nigeria	7
18		Kenya	6
19	1	Brazil	6
20	1	Philippines	4
21	1	Uganda	3
22	1	Italy	3
23		Jamaica	2
24		Ghana	2
25		Malta	2
26		Turkey	2
27		Lebanon	0
Complete rankings at www.internationalrugbyleague.com

See also

• Australia portal
• Sports portal

Men

• Australian Kangaroos
• Australian Aboriginal rugby league team
• Junior Kangaroos
• Australian Schoolboys
• Prime Minister's XIII

Women's Governance and History

• Women's rugby league in Australia

Women's Teams

• Indigenous All Stars
• Queensland women's rugby league team
• New South Wales women's rugby league team
• City New South Wales women's rugby league team
• Country New South Wales women's rugby league team

Women's Competitions

• Tier 1 NRL Women's Premiership
• Tier 2 QRL Women's Premiership
• Tier 2 NSWRL Women's Premiership
• Tier 3 Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League
• Tier 3 Brisbane and District Women's Rugby League