You can almost sense Romy Teitzel’s answer before you finish the question.
You naturally wonder how the Newcastle Knights star has found the unlikely transition from fullback to the second row during her side’s charge to a sudden-death NRLW semi-final.
“Well, it humbled me a little bit,” Teitzel grinned.
“I thought I was fit playing at fullback, but bringing more contact and ball-running into it, and getting up and down off the ground in tackles, it definitely was a huge impact I noticed. I learnt that pretty quickly, I’d say that’s the biggest change.
“I played most of, it not all of my football at fullback. To transition into the back row, I’ve actually enjoyed it, learning something new and getting a bit closer to the contact and the ball. I’m definitely learning as the game goes but hopefully I can stick it out and lock in that position.”
It was a change born out of necessity, and one partly responsible for the Knights reversing a winless campaign last season into a top-two finish and a shot at the grand final.
Romy Teitzel’s shift to the forward pack has helped Newcastle’s charge to the finals.Credit:NRL Photos
Newcastle landed the prized signature of Queensland fullback Tamika Upton during a relentless recruitment drive that brought Dally M winner Millie Boyle, Southwell sisters Hannah and Jesse, and NSW Blues forward Yasmin Clydsdale to the steel city.
Upton’s arrival resulted in Teitzel shift to the forward pack, where she will line up against the St George Illawarra Dragons during Sunday’s semi-final double-header at Suncorp Stadium.
The 23-year-old says she has a lot to learn in the second row, but Upton – who Teitzel played alongside at the Brisbane Broncos during their successful 2020 campaign – thinks her close mate is “making the position her own”.
That hardly comes as a surprise given Teitzel’s bloodlines. Her father Craig played prop at the top level with Western Suburbs, the Illawarra Steelers and Warrington Wolves before hanging up the boots following North Queensland’s inaugural season in 1995.
The Cowboys may yet come hunting for the second generation star as they prepare to enter the NRLW in 2023, with Teitzel captaining the North Queensland Gold Stars to a QRL title earlier this year.
Teitzel arrived too late to see her father’s football career, but she jokes that wouldn’t stop him from dishing out stories from the glory days.
“He tries to. They’re big supporters. He rings me all the time and talks to me about footy, but he keeps to himself a little bit which I appreciate. He lets me be my own person. They’re big supporters of mine and they’re at most of the games if they can get there,” Teitzel said.
“I actually never played a proper game of rugby league until I was about 16, just in a school competition, and then not again until I was 19. I played a few games and ended up at the Brisbane Broncos in 2020.
Romy Teitzel and the Knights face the Dragons this weekend.Credit:NRL Photos
“Growing up I played every sport under the sun and rugby league was always around me, I knew I would play it somewhere but I definitely didn’t think I would be playing it as a professional athlete.
“I absolutely love rugby league and being a North Queensland kid, it’s something I grew up doing and watching. It’s always been a big part of my life.”
