Hollie-Mae Dodd now plays for Canberra Raiders in the NRLW, but her loyalties remain with England and she hopes her experience of the Australian game can be put to good use.
SATURDAY, 27th July 2019, it’s the Challenge Cup Final at Bolton – one of the biggest days in the women’s rugby league calendar.
Castleford Tigers handed a debut to Hollie-Mae Dodd. She’d only turned 16 the day before. She’s out on the wing, and she is already garnering much media attention given that she has made history as the youngest player – male or female – to appear in a Challenge Cup Final.
Little did she know back then that five years later, she would have created even more history and be an integral part of an England set-up as they embark on a journey to write their own name in the record books.
In April last year, Dodd left York Valkyrie to become the first English player to join an NRLW club when she signed for Canberra Raiders. Although she was soon followed by Leeds Rhinos duo Fran Goldthorp and Georgia Roche, she also holds the accolade of becoming the first English player to score a try in the NRLW, touching down as the Raiders beat Wests Tigers 28–22 in August 2023.
Dodd flew out to Australia to begin her new life shortly after last year’s mid-season test against France, with a knee injury preventing her from featuring against Wales 12 months ago. But she made a try-scoring return when England faced the same opposition in early November as preparations got well and truly underway for the nation’s next big test – March’s showdown against the Australian Jillaroos in Las Vegas – which will be followed by further Tests against the Aussies when the Ashes are contested at the end of next year.
It will be the first time Dodd and the majority of Stuart Barrow’s international squad will have faced the reigning World Cup holders, so the prospect is no doubt somewhat daunting for all.
But Dodd is hoping that a bit of insider knowledge could help her teammates prepare for the biggest challenge they have faced yet.
“It’s really good to be back among the girls,” said Dodd, who will now remain with the England squad until the trip to the Nevada city, while Roche, who was unavailable for the 82-0 win over Wales at Headingley, will link up with them in December.
“I got really emotional being back playing in an England shirt. It’s always a special moment when you pull the shirt on, and it’s always nice to get a try as well.
“When I was younger I always dreamed of going over to Australia to play rugby league but never thought it would be possible, so when I got the chance to do it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.
“Moving out there, not knowing anyone and stepping into the unknown took me out of my comfort zone and it was something I needed to do to help me on and off the field.
“I have learnt so much while I have been out there. I’d never really had a long-term injury before last year, but I stayed motivated and bounced back and I feel that mentality is something I have been able to bring back and show the squad.
“We train at 110 per cent out there as well and I think I have brought that back with me and gone out there and put my best foot forward.
“When Georgia’s with us, I hope our knowledge of the game in Australia will help us as we build towards those games.
“Of course, as a squad, we will do some video work on Australia, but having played with and against most of the girls that will be playing, hopefully, we will be able to pass on some knowledge of how they play to the girls here.
“We’ll have an idea as well how they might play as a team, but we won’t want to focus on them too much. It will be more about our own performance, staying focused and playing as we know we can.
“With a lot of younger girls coming through now, there are a lot of them, me included, who have never played against the Australian national team so we’re all looking forward to that challenge.
“We played really well against Wales and when you look at the players who missed out that could be back in contention for Australia you can see that there is plenty of depth throughout the squad.
“That will likely give Stu (Barrow) a headache when it comes to naming his squad for Vegas, but it is good that we have so much talent available.”
Life down under has been vastly different for Dodd, who has returned to these shores to a new-look England squad.
In the last two games, eight players have been handed a debut by Barrow, and despite still only being 21 years old herself, Dodd is now one of the more experienced heads in the camp and she knows this means she now has a different role to play.
“There have been quite a few changes in the squad since I was last involved and it is great to see all the new younger girls coming into the system,” added Dodd, who would love to see her teammates in the UK enjoy the same level of recognition as her Australian ones do down under.
“I still feel quite young, but within the squad we had for the Wales game, I was classed as one of the older ones.
“I know that when I was younger I used to look up to the older girls quite a bit, and I still do now, and I’ve learnt a lot from them, so now hopefully the younger players can look up to players like myself and learn from us.
“There are so many great players coming through now and the game is developing so much that hopefully one day soon we can get it to where we want it to be and that’s professional.
“We’re still semi-pro out in Australia and I have been working for the club doing some work in the community, and also doing some coaching in schools for the NRL.
“We’re the only team within Canberra so most people watch the club and it’s crazy because some of the girls walk down the street and people are shouting their names.
“If we have a good international series against Australia that’s the sort of recognition that our players can get.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 503 (December 2024)
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