‘May be my last campaign’: Jillaroos icon’s selfless act as history beckons but new stars rise

Ali Brigginshaw is on the brink of making history — this weekend, the next and by the end of the 2026 World Cup.

The 35-year-old will make her 27th Jillaroos appearance on Sunday against Samoa, sitting outright third for most Test caps — behind only Hall of Famers Karyn Murphy and Tahnee Norris.

In Round 3 of the Pacific Championships against New Zealand, Brigginshaw will join Murphy on 28 games, with only Norris (32) to catch.

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With a finals appearance this year, and a full 2026 World Cup, Brigginshaw could end her career as the equal most-capped Jillaroo.

The legendary and versatile star could fill another spot on the Mount Rushmore of women’s rugby league.

It’d be a fitting finale for one of Australia’s greatest players but in typically selfless fashion, she will only take part in next year’s World Cup if the team needs her.

Brigginshaw revealed in August that next season would be her last as a player, and that kept the door ajar for a historic Jillaroos farewell.

“This may be my last campaign for the Jillaroos, which I’m OK with. But I’ve always said this, if someone needs me in their team, whether that’s Queensland or Australia, I will never let a team down,” Brigginshaw told foxsports.com.au.

“So if (coach) Jess (Skinner) calls me next year and says, ‘Hey, I think we need you, there’s been a couple of injuries’, and I’m in the right headspace to play, I’ll play.

“But I’m not going to stand in anyone’s way, you know. Tarryn (Aiken) and Jesse (Southwell) are the future of the halves pairing here.

“They deserve that, they work extremely hard and they’re great athletes, great players. It’s time to let them run the show and I’ll do my part in any team.”

Aiken suffered an ACL injury in September, which ended her season and will leave her recovering well into next year, opening up the No.6 jersey for Brigginshaw to take with both hands.

“I just feel like, not that I’m lucky I am in the team now because of Tarryn’s injury, but I just think those two girls, they’re two hell-of-a-players,” Brigginshaw said of Aiken and Southwell.

“I know what they can do, so Jess needed me this year because of injury and I have a role to play. I’d never say no to anyone, they know that.

“If the conversation ever came up where they needed me, they know what I’m like, they know what I’d do for this jersey.”

Every sport needs champions, and Brigginshaw has been one for women’s rugby league.

She has been there in the tough times, making her Test debut in 2009, when the players funded their own tours and faced criticism for simply taking the field.

The Jillaroos played their first Test match in 1995, meaning Brigginshaw has been involved in the Australian set-up for more than half of its life.

The situation for women’s players between 2009 and now is “world’s apart”.

“We played New Zealand, and I remember the lights weren’t very good so we just had street lights lighting up the field, that was my first Test match,” Brigginshaw recalled.

“When we played Samoa over there, we had wooden pickets as a sideline. We had to walk and scan over the field to make sure there was no rocks or glass or anything on it.

“There was a bit of funding to help, but everyone already knows girls lost their jobs and things like that because you’re away from work.

“There was more to the bigger picture than just travelling for your country.”

In 2013, Brigginshaw won a World Cup as Australia’s five-eighth. She played in the first Broncos’ NRLW team in 2018 and won a title.

In 2019 another premiership landed at Red Hill, and the following year she won the Dally M Medal as well as winning another title.

For her beloved Queensland, Brigginshaw helped the Maroons to win three Origin shields, in 2020, 2021 and 2024; the latter in the first three-game series.

Then in this year another title was won by the Broncos, defeating the previously-unbeaten Roosters. But despite all these achievements, one aspect of Brigginshaw’s career fills her with the most joy.

“I think it’s what makes me happiest, seeing how far the game has come,” she said.

“Seeing the opportunities the girls get. We get given our gear bag and there’s so much gear you’re nearly complaining about how much gear you’ve got.

“It’s just crazy how far it’s come and the girls have worked extremely hard to get it to where it is. There’s a lot of people behind the scenes who fight our battle.

“I was speaking to one of our trainers, she just said she’s so shocked at how much we improve year-in, year-out, the same athlete from just doing NRLW.

“But their benchmarks get smashed every year because of what we’re doing.”

The compounding effect of training in its clearest form. Especially given that now, players’ injuries are taken seriously and their bodies are managed as professional athletes.

In the past — and specifically during a tour of Samoa in 2011, the last time the Jillaroos faced the pacific nation — things like broken legs could be left untreated.

Jillaroos great Jo Barrett suffered a “completely cracked fibula” which was treated with only panadol after an ugly hip drop tackle on that wild 2011 trip.

“I think that’s why you’re seeing the best game, you’re not having girls battling injury with no physios like we used to do,” Brigginshaw said.

“We used to have to strap ourselves and all that. Now you’re seeing girls get the treatment they need, get the right support to make sure their bodies are right for the game.

“There was a time when that was not happening ... you’d play on an injury. You wouldn’t whinge about it.

“You’d just go, ‘Oh, I don’t have ligaments in my ankle, but I’ll be right’. That was the mentality, the team needs you, you’ve got to just play.”

So, after an illustrious career, what does Brigginshaw want to leave behind after what could be her last Jillaroos campaign?

“I think you dream of playing one game, but to play 27, it’s a pretty insane achievement. I always looked up to ‘Murph’,” she said.

“I think it’s just really important to make sure you’re making an impact when you’re in this jersey. That’s the way of being brought up by those girls (Karyn Murphy and Tahnee Norris).

“You make an impact, you help the younger crew, you do whatever you can for this group and I think that’s why I’m sticking around.

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“Because I am so passionate about this jersey and what it means. I think it’s important that these young girls understand that and I know that’s where Jess sees her value in me.

“Making sure the young girls lead the Jillaroos way.”

And Brigginshaw has paved that “way” with a career she wouldn’t have any other way.

“I think that’s what I am so grateful for, people say, ‘You’re going to miss out on going full-time because you’ll retire’, but I wouldn’t change my career for anything,” she said.

“I’m so lucky I got to battle it out through the hard times, because I think if you face any challenge in life today that are away from football, it’s nothing.

“I’ve got the resilience now from the game. I’ve got so much more from the game than other girls would have.

“On behalf of the older crew, knowing I’ve played with a lot of them, I feel a lot of pride and responsibility to make sure this jersey’s in a good place.

“We’re very strong on making sure that happens.”

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