Honey Hireme vs El Niche Cache
How did you end up with St George Illawara Dragons and why did you choose to play for the Dragons?
I had a couple of phone conversations with Daniel Lacey - Head coach. He spoke to me about what he was wanting to achieve with the team and he seemed like a honest, genuine bloke. He spoke about having a big focus around developing some of the local young girls which I have always been passionate about especially supporting and guiding young ones coming through.
I also choose the dragons because i wanted to try something new and get out of my comfort zone, I'm a through and through kiwi girl and can be quite a home body so moving over the ditch was going to be a big move for me and being away from my family also. However I know rugby league is Australia's No.1 game and I wanted to experience how they do league there and it all kind of fell into place. I lived with my family, the Dragons club and especially my team mates became my 2nd family, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the team.
You were named in the NRLW Team of the Week at centre and fullback for the Dragons, what was the main challenge between centre and fullback for you?
I didn’t get a whole lot of time to prepare for the change of position but for me it was about stepping up and doing what was best for the team at that time. If they asked me to play prop I'd probably give it a go. The main challenge was having to cover the distance when your out the back, you clock up the kms that’s for sure, I was more worried about my lungs lol.
What was your favourite highlight off the field from your time with the Dragons?
Off field hmmm - our silly Sunday session! Party bus, football golf with golf carts, pub crawls, a few cold ones, kareoke etc.
Also, our Dragons membership day - we had our supporters all come out and just hang out on a Sunday afternoon after we had played the Warriors. We had a good number of supporters show up and we played games, signed stuff and just engaged with everyone. We even had some of the kids sing our team song with us, it was awesome to see the local Illawara people come out and get behind the women's team.
What keeps you busy away from footy - do you have another job or hobbies that set you up for success away from the field?
I work full time as a Disability Sport Advisor for the Halberg Foundation, we enable and support young Kiwis with physical disabilities to participant in sport and recreation.
You have played union and league at a high level for a long time, is there anything in your daily/weekly routine that you think is a factor in your longevity?
I actively practice mindfulness and just taking time to reflect daily on where I'm at and what I'm doing, and just being at peace mentally. Taking anything between 5-30 minutes a day. It helps to keep me in check - and I think that if i can be mentally sharp the easy part is then being physically capable to do what i need to do. The body will always do what the head tells it to do!
What is your favourite meal to eat?
1. Boil up
2. Scrambled eggs on toast with peanut butter and honey.
3. In moderation - KFC
We are now seeing many athletes swapping between league and union, what has been the biggest challenge that you've faced in moving from the two codes and how have you dealt with that challenge?
Time management and knowing what the different codes have coming up, trying to manage training loads and calendars to be able to play both codes. I've been lucky enough to manage this for many years but there has been years where events/tournaments/games have clashed so I have had to make some hard decisions. With both codes now moving into the professional space it is a lot harder to be a "code hopper" as I am often labeled.
What is the best advice you have received?
Effort on effort on effort becomes habit.
Do something big or something small every day for 21 days straight and after 21 days it becomes a habit which makes it effortless.
Do you have a training activity that you make sure you do at every training, or as much as possible away from footy?
Yep - Fending practice :-)
What is one area of your game that you are looking to improve on over the summer?
Tackle technique - I'm tall so always struggle to tackle low and often get penalised for head highs.
Who would you like to give thanks to?
Firstly my family - they have always been my rock, my advisers, my supporters, my everything. All my coaches who have believed in me and given me the opportunity to play and lastly my team mates and friends who I am always grateful to for the camaraderie and life long friendships.