Jada Taylor: Sydney Roosters reward Tamworth teen for breakout season

"I feel like everything's just sort of happening at the moment," she said. "I'm trying to keep up with it all. It's exciting."

Taylor was recently elevated to Rugby Australia's No 2 women seven's squad.

And the big cherry on top of her influential showing in the Sydney Roosters' Tarsha Gale Cup grand final win on Saturday was the signing of her first NRLW contract on Monday.

The Sydney-based Tamworthian, 18, will soon commence training with the Roosters' NRLW squad ahead of the 2022 season. They are the reigning premiers.

Before that happens, Taylor will play for the Roosters in the NSW Women's Premiership. She will make her debut against Mounties on the Central Coast on Saturday.

She hopes a strong showing in that competition, and a strong off-season with the Roosters' NRLW squad, will result in her making her NRLW debut next season.

"It's all a bit crazy at the moment, a lot going on," said the delightful teen, who is doing a teaching degree online.

At Commbank Stadium on Saturday, Taylor played fullback in the Roosters' 12-10 Tarsha Gale Cup grand final defeat of the Knights. She produced a grubber kick that led to a converted try and a 6-0 lead.

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It was the undefeated Roosters' first triumph in the under-19 competition. And it was the first time that Taylor's family was on hand to watch her play this season.

"It was special having them there," she said, adding: "Like, running over to them at the end, that was a very good feeling."

Taylor's father, Luke, is an NRL game development officer and coaches the Dungowan Cowboys, which includes her elder brother, Trent.

"To come out and perform like I did, I'm pretty happy with it," Taylor said of her first rugby league season since playing for Dungowan's under-11 side.

She added: "It's good to be back in the sport; I definitely missed it."

Positioning herself to make her NRLW debut is "very special" to her. She believes she has re-entered the sport at the "perfect age" and at the perfect time, what with the continued growth of women's rugby league.

"We're kind of growing together," she said of her and the women's game.

"Like, my dream was always to play in the NRL, and obviously that was never gonna happen being a girl," she also said.

The gifted athlete added: "Like, it's everything I've ever wanted. It's very special to be a part of, and I know it means a lot to me, and it means a lot to my family."

Being named in the Australia A sevens squad was also "pretty special", Taylor said.

"If the national team needs games, we play them," she added. "Hopefully, we will play internationals as well, if they have tournaments where they [Australia] can enter two teams."

Taylor said the Roosters "fully" supported her rugby endeavours.

"Obviously clashes are gonna happen [between the codes] and hard decisions will have to be made. But at this point, I'm still juggling both."

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