Jada Taylor: Tamworth teen in midst of major life moment

The 18-year-old stands at the precipice of an immense period in her journey.

It is a period that involves sitting her HSC exams, with an eye on university next year and a teaching degree.

It is also a period in which she will resume her involvement with the Sydney Roosters and NSW Rugby's sevens program, as she eyes the NRLW and the Paris Olympics.

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Speaking from Sydney, where she returned on Sunday after several months living back home in Tamworth during the lockdown, she said she was feeling "excited".

"Nervous is probably another word," she added. 'Like, moving out by myself and not having the school and not having my family - that's a bit of a scary one."

Taylor is in year 12 at Wenona School in North Sydney. She has been at the all-girls boarding school since year 10, having relocated to the capital in order to further her education and football.

She hopes to make her debut in the Sydney Roosters' under-19 Tarsha Gale side next season, after missing last season due to a second shoulder reconstruction.

The teen then hopes to springboard into the Roosters' NRLW outfit in 2023.

At the same time, she aims to segue from Australia's youth sevens squad into the national women's sevens side.

"It gets a bit full-on sometimes training five days a week," she said. "And you've got games on the weekend ... But, as I said, it's so worth it."

Taylor knows that within the next two years she will have to choose between rugby league and rugby union.

While she is enthralled by the appeal of the NRLW, she is loathe to give up rugby union because of the allure of the Olympics.

"You can't have that in rugby league," she said, adding that representing Australia at the Olympics is "very enticing for a lot of young girls at the moment".

Taylor seems to be in a good headspace to attack those lofty ambitions, as well as her education and, potentially, a career as a primary school teacher.

She returned to Sydney emotionally plump after some four months spent in Tamworth.

While at home she resigned with the Dungowan Cowgirls, who were coached by her father, Luke, a premiership-winning player and mentor at North Tamworth and Dungowan.

Her teammates included some of her best friends and her stepmother, Sarah.

"That was massive," she said of her Cowgirls experience. "Like, it made me enjoy being back home a lot more."

She added: "It was so good playing footy with my family as well. There's no one I'd rather be coached by than Dad."

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