Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 12 February 2005 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (12 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Five-eighth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 7 October 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Jesse Southwell (born 12 February 2005) is an Australian rugby league and rugby sevens footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her positions are halfback and five-eighth.
Southwell was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. She played her junior rugby league for the Kotara Bears.
She had played rugby league since she was a 5-year old child and only played rugby sevens for the first time at high school. [2] She also played touch football growing up. [3] Southwell said she was inspired by the Australian gold medal winning rugby sevens team at the 2016 Olympic Games. [4]
She is the younger sister of Knights teammate Hannah Southwell. [5]
In 2020, Southwell made history by becoming the first female player to sign a contract with the Newcastle Knights. [6] In November 2021, she was announced as a development player for the Knights' NRL Women's Premiership side.
Southwell played for the Knights' Tarsha Gale Cup side in 2022. [7] She was selected for the Australian sevens squad in April following her stand out performances in the AON University Sevens Series for the Newcastle University in New South Wales. [8] In May, she played a match for the Knights' NSWRL Women's Premiership side. [9]
She won a gold medal with the Australian sevens team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. [10] [11] [12]
In August, she officially joined the Knights' NRLW top 24-squad after gaining an exemption from the NRL due to being underage. [5] In round 1 of the 2022 NRLW season, she made her NRLW debut for the Knights against the Brisbane Broncos, [13] scoring a try in the Knights' 32-14 win. [14]
On 2 October, Southwell played in the Knights' 2022 NRLW Grand Final win over the Parramatta Eels, scoring a try and kicking a goal in the Knights' 32-12 victory. [15]
In April, Southwell re-signed with the Knights on a contract until the end of 2027. [16]
Southwell made her State of Origin debut for New South Wales in Game 1 of the 2023 Women's State of Origin at Parramatta's CommBank Stadium. [17]
Her try against the Sydney Roosters was voted the NRLW try of the year. [18] [19]
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top tier competition in 1988, 79 years after the previous Newcastle based team, the Newcastle Rebels had departed the Sydney competition with the formation of a separate league competition based in the Newcastle region.
Paige Parker is an Australian rules football and rugby league footballer who plays for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Women's Premiership. She previously played for Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW), and the Newcastle Knights in the NRLW.
Hannah Southwell is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a lock, she is an Australian and New South Wales representative.
Millie Elliott is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her position is prop.
Ngatokotoru Arakua is a New Zealand rugby league footballer.
Yasmin Clydsdale is an Australian professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her positions are second-row and wing. She previously played for the Sydney Roosters in the NRLW and the Central Coast Roosters in the NSWRL Women's Premiership.
Tamika Upton is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her position is fullback. She previously played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRLW, CQ Capras and Burleigh Bears in the QRL Women's Premiership.
Shanice Parker is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership.
The 2022 Newcastle Knights season was the 35th in the club's history. Coached by Adam O'Brien and co-captained by Jayden Brailey and Kalyn Ponga, they competed in the NRL's 2022 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 14th place.
Kyra Simon is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her position is prop. She previously played for the Newcastle Knights.
Olivia Higgins is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Tayla Predebon is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her position is prop. She previously played for the Sydney Roosters.
The Newcastle Knights Women are an Australian rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales. The team is part of the Newcastle Knights club and competes in the National Rugby League Women's Premiership (NRLW). The team's home ground is McDonald Jones Stadium. The team has won two premierships over its history.
Makenzie Weale is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Kayla Romaniuk is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. Her positions are lock and prop.
The 2023 NRLW Premiership was the sixth professional season of Women's rugby league in Australia. As announced in March 2022 by the governing body, the National Rugby League, the number of teams increased from six to ten.
The duration of the season was confirmed by the NRL in a media release on 14 February 2023 as nine rounds followed by semi-finals and a Grand Final.
The 2023 Newcastle Knights season was the 36th in the club's history. Coached by Adam O'Brien and co-captained by Jayden Brailey and Kalyn Ponga, they competed in the NRL's 2023 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season in 5th place, thus reaching the finals. The Knights made it to the second week of finals, before being knocked out by the New Zealand Warriors.
Sophie Holyman is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Krystal Blackwell is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership.
Bree Chester is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays as a second-row and lock forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL Women's Premiership. She is an Indigenous All Stars representative.
