Bringing heart and heat to the game

Jessica Sergis first picked up a ball at the age of five, following her father and her uncle, who ran the Coogee Randwick Wombats rugby league club.

"My first rugby league club was a massive part of my family and had a huge impact on my career. We'd spend every weekend down there, so I was around the game from a very early age and just loved it straight away," she says.

When Sergis first began playing, she was the only girl on her team, but this didn't stop the self-professed tomboy from participating in the sport she loved.

"To be surrounded by all boys was a bit daunting, but being a bit of a tomboy, I fitted in straight away," she says. "Footy training was the highlight of my week."

A few years later, Sergis gave up rugby league due to the age restrictions placed on girls playing against boys. 

"Everyone knew girls had to stop playing at 12; that was considered normal," she says. "Obviously, men and women are built very differently, and it got to the point where I was getting injured all the time because the boys were getting bigger and stronger.

"I was upset about having to give it up, and I remember saying to my mum and dad, 'I wish I was born a boy, why can't I be a boy?' so I could keep playing, but it wasn't an option.”

She says it was hard watching her brother and the other boys playing — "Of course, I was supportive, but I still wished it were me too."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ70qmmp6ufp7Kle9CLp4mvlYWBo6HWrrCzsoebha2ljqOcrKtdqLKzs8isZJuqmaO0qrrGZp%2BemaKpeqK6w2afnpmkYsGwedOhnGafkaKycA%3D%3D