Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Cast an eye to the future and consider who the first rugby league Immortal of the women’s game might be. Given her status as a trailblazer, State of Origin hero and four-time premiership winner, Ali Brigginshaw’s name must be front and centre of those discussions.
“Ali Brigginshaw: when you hear that name, you know she’s something special,” Brisbane Broncos teammate Julia Robinson told this masthead.
“What she’s done for the game is incredible. She’s just one of those players and people you just look up to … you want to play for, and whenever she goes out there she plays with her heart on her sleeve and is an inspiration to all.
“She’s inspired so many girls, she’s going to have this legacy forever. There are so many girls who can be Immortals, but Ali is definitely up there.”
Each game could be Brigginshaw’s last, with the 36-year-old stressing she would not be backflipping on her decision to retire at season’s end as she sought to eradicate the “mum guilt” she felt being on the road with two stepdaughters at home.
“People have definitely questioned that response, but to me, I think I’ve done a lot in the game, and I’m happy with where I’m at,” Brigginshaw laughed.
“I want to see what else is out there; I want to spend time with my family, thinking about holidays and all that. It’s time to see what Ali can do now.”
The Brisbane champion was reduced to tears after a final round triumph of the Warriors, when New Zealand players performed a Hakka in her honour – ending a shortened last regular season in which she copped a three-game suspension for a dangerous tackle which left her “heartbroken”.
Celebrations of her career, according to Brigginshaw, needed to be discarded for now, as the Broncos plot another piece of silverware – beginning with Saturday’s elimination final against Newcastle.
“I’ve always just said I play the game that I love, and I’m lucky that I get to be a part of all these moments of games that we never even thought we’d be standing here doing and watching women’s rugby league,” Brigginshaw said.
“It wasn’t really spoken about or thought about when I first started. Playing the game I love, leaving a legacy for young girls to always have rugby league available to them, it’s a crazy world I live in that I get to do that.
“But it’s why I wanted to celebrate and have my family around at the last home game of the rounds because the focus isn’t me, the focus is the finals’ series. I never want to make something about me.”
While no women have been included in rugby league’s most illustrious club across the game’s 118-year history – Ron Coote named as the 14th Immortal in 2024 – the first female members of the NRL Hall of Fame who were named that same year has suggested an inaugural inductee beckons.
Those Hall of Fame members – Natalie Dwyer, Katrina Fanning, Tarsha Gale, Veronica White, Karyn Murphy, and Tahnee Norris – would come into consideration, while modern-day stars such as five-time premiership victor and two-time Dally M Medal winner Tamika Upton is already arguably the code’s greatest player, despite being just 29.
Upton – who served as co-captain alongside Brigginshaw last year, before the latter stepped down for this campaign – laughed when it was put to her that she could factor into that debate, before shifting attention to the role Brigginshaw has played in pioneering the women’s space.
“Her story is definitely not closed in rugby league. I don’t know what the future holds for her, but I’m sure she’ll be in and around the fold in some capacity, so she’s still adding to that [legacy],” Upton said.
“You want to go out with a win for Ali – I think she is the NRLW. It’s going to be weird, I haven’t really thought about it too much just yet because we’re still in it, and she’s still here, but there hasn’t been an NRLW game without her in it or in the fold.”
Brigginshaw has no intention of closing the book on her rugby league journey – one which began playing juniors with the boys before a Queensland and Australia debut in 2009, nine years before the NRLW launched when a professional women’s outlet seemed to be a pipe dream.
Murphy remains the only woman at the helm of a senior side, with her Gold Coast Titans finishing second, and Brigginshaw hinted she harboured a desire to join her in the coaching ranks.
“I’ve been around for a long time and had many coaches where I feel I can pass on the knowledge to the younger girls, but I always dreamt and still dream of coaching 15, 16-year-old boys,” Brigginshaw revealed.
“I had a coach who was a female in the boys space when I first started, and something about that was something I wanted to do. You never know where it’s going to land, but I’m pretty much open to all opportunities.
“I know it’s time for me to step away because the young generations are coming, and they’re ready to take on the next step.”
That coaching future should not come as a shock, given Brigginshaw has already served as a mentor and player to aspire towards for the next generation.
In 2026, she has slid back into five-eighth to accommodate New South Wales and Jillaroos recruit Jesse Southwell at halfback, with the 21-year-old’s potential lauded as among the best in the game’s history.
“There are a lot of halfbacks at the moment who are playing really good football – Taryn Aitken, Loz Brown – so there are a lot of halfbacks killing it in the game, and I think we can learn lessons off each other,” Southwell said.
“I’ve certainly learned a lot from Ali, I’m still learning a lot from Ali.”
Robinson added: “She’s such a smart football player, and I’ve noticed that throughout the year – how she sees the game and how she wants to play.
“I think she will be an awesome coach in the future.”
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