Group 4: Bromley Nankivell talks moving to Tamworth and a historic grand final

She played "anything and everything" as a child, and that did not change even when, in her teens, her parents relocated the family to Tamworth.

Their move, Nankivell said, was driven by a desire for better opportunity, but as a 14-year-old it felt to her like "the world was over".

"It wasn't fun," she said.

"I have a younger brother who's five years younger, and he doesn't have much recollection of living [in New Zealand]. To say it was a culture shock, that's definitely an understatement."

But Nankivell soon settled in at school and found a friendship group, and within a year felt at home in Tamworth.

Through it all, she continued to pursue her sporting passions. Netball took precedence throughout her teen years, but she left the sport as she entered adulthood and began focusing on Oztag in her 20s.

That was how she eventually found the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters.

"Jeff Faint [the current Roosters women's coach] and Geoff Sharpe [Roosters veteran coach and committee member] were our Oztag coaches," Nankivell said.

"They said 'We're going to jump on board', and Fainty wanted to coach the league tag, so we all decided to play."

That was in 2021, and three years on, Nankivell has become an important part of the first Kootingal-Moonbi women's team to make a Group 4 grand final since 2018 (where, coincidentally, they beat the North Tamworth Bears in Tamworth).

This Saturday's grand final will again see the Roosters take on the Bears in Tamworth, and Nankivell said "everyone is quite excited" for their first premiership tilt in five years.

"Some of the girls are quite nervous, but it's the first league tag grand final for practically the entire team," she said.

"We've been working really hard and we're a pretty close playing group, so it's something we're excited to do together, experience together, and hopefully get the win."

Throughout her league journey, Nankivell's biggest supporter - and another reason she joined the Roosters - was her partner, first grade captain Logan Howard.

The 26-year-old credits much of her improvement in the sport to his influence, which extends beyond the bounds of the club's training sessions.

"He's really taken me on board for one-on-one coaching, I don't really have a choice," Nankivell said with a laugh.

"Most of our weekends, or if we get a free arvo, we're down both practicing skills. It's good in the sense that if he wants to practice catching, I can practice kicking."

All that extra work will likely come in handy against the Bears, who Nankivell knows will be out for revenge after the Roosters beat them in stunning fashion in the major semi-final.

"Norths at Norths will be difficult," she said.

"We just have a game plan that we need to stick to and execute ... but I have faith in all the girls. They're all really skilled and natural athletes, and we trained all year for these moments."

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