Isabelle Kelly

Isabelle Kelly

Isabelle Kelly (right) in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Isabelle Maree Kelly
Born	(1996-09-20) 20 September 1996 (age 28) Gosford, New South Wales, Australia
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in) [1]
Weight	75 kg (11 st 11 lb) [1]
Playing information
Position	Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2018–19 Sydney Roosters 7 2 0 0 8 2020 St George Illawarra 2 0 0 0 0 2021– Sydney Roosters 34 15 0 0 48 Total 43 17 0 0 56 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2015–24 New South Wales 11 4 0 0 16 2017– Australia 11 12 0 0 48 2017–- Women's All Stars 1 0 0 0 0 2019 Australia 9s 4 2 0 0 8
Source: [2] As of 14 November 2022

Isabelle Maree Kelly (born 20 September 1996) ^[1] is an Australian rugby league footballer who plays for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Central Coast Roosters in the NSWRL Women's Premiership.

Primarily a centre, she is an Australian and New South Wales representative. ^[3]

Background

Born in Gosford, New South Wales, Kelly played her junior rugby league for the Berkeley Vale Panthers. Her father, Ken, played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the 1980s, while her brother, Dylan, played for Manly's under-20's, NSW Cup and represented his state in the NSW Blues resident squad in 2016. ^[4]

Playing career

In 2015, Kelly made her debut for New South Wales, scoring their only try in a 4–all draw with Queensland. ^[4]

In 2017, she was a member of the Jillaroos 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup winning side, scoring the first try in the final against New Zealand.

In June 2018, Kelly was announced as one of fifteen marquee signings by the Sydney Roosters women's team which will participate in the inaugural NRL Women's Premiership in September 2018. ^[5]

On 22 June 2018, Kelly scored two tries for New South Wales in their Women's State of Origin win over Queensland and was awarded the Nellie Doherty Medal for Player of the Match. ^[6]

In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's Premiership, Kelly made her debut for the Sydney Roosters, starting at centre and scoring her side's only try in their 10–4 loss to the New Zealand Warriors. ^[7]

On 10 September 2018, she was named the NSWRL Women's State of Origin Player of the Year at the Brad Fittler Medal awards in Sydney. ^[8] In November 2018, she became the inaugural winner of the Women's Golden Boot Award. ^[9]

On 27 September 2020, Kelly captained the Central Coast Roosters to an undefeated win of the NSWRL Women's Premiership. ^[10]

During the NRLW game between St. George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos on 10 October 2020, Kelly was involved in an incident in which Broncos player Amber Hall pulled her hair and tackled her. Landing on her ankles, she suffered from a syndesmosis injury and was aided by crutches temporarily. ^[11]

On 16 May 2024, Kelly captained the NSW Blues Womens for first game of the first ever three game Women's state of Origin series. She was announced captain again for the Sydney Roosters for the 2024 NRLW season. She finished the normal season with three tries, two of which were scored against the St George Illawarra in round 4, which the Sydney Roosters won 28-8. On 2 October, Dally M Night, Kelly collected Centre of the Year, as well as being nominated for captain of the year. She played in both of the Sydney Roosters finals games, including their 32-28 win in the NRLw Grand Final against the Cronulla Sharks.

References

1. "Isabelle Kelly - NSW Profile". National Rugby League . Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
2. "Isabelle Kelly - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
3. Buckley, James (20 November 2017). "Jillaroos centre Isabelle Kelly accused of biting at World Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
4. Webeck, Tony (3 February 2017). "Jillaroos rookie set to take Nines by Storm". National Rugby League . Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
5. "Roosters announce NRLW marquee signings". Sydney Roosters . 17 June 2018. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
6. Stanton, Tanisha (23 June 2018). "Kelly dedicates Origin medal to her late mum". National Rugby League . Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
7. Newton, Alicia (8 September 2018). "Roosters v Warriors: NRLW Round 1 preview". National Rugby League . Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
8. "Tedesco Claims 2018 Brad Fittler Medal". New South Wales Rugby League . 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
9. Newton, Alicia (8 November 2018). "Kelly honoured to create Golden Boot history". National Rugby League . England. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
10. Harris, Kristy-Lee (27 September 2020). "Roosters reign supreme with thrilling GF victory". New South Wales Rugby League . Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
11. Lutton, Phil (10 October 2020). "Hair-pulling incident sours Broncos' NRLW win over Dragons". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.

External links

• St George Illawarra Dragons profile