Sammy Bremner says she could never understand it when people talked about their ups and downs and said they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Now the newly minted Jillaroos captain is one of them. It’s been five years since she last pulled on an Australian jersey. There were times she stepped away from rugby league to raise her two children, while every time she tried to stay on the field, there was an injury forcing her off it.
Next month’s World Cup in England will mark Bremner’s first appearance for Australia since a Nines tournament in early 2017. A concussion, stress fracture and broken toe have kept her out of the fold since – and the mother of two “truly would not have it any other way”.
“It has defined who I am as a person, a player, a mum and a teammate. The best thing I am so grateful for is how I feel now being back in green and gold,” Bremner said.
“It’s been a curly journey, but to pull the colours on again from such a different perspective, it makes it all the more special for me. You find yourself soaking up every single moment instead of taking little things for granted.
“That’s from being around your friends all the time to getting strapped up and getting ready for training, the little things you miss out on when you’re injured or you’re not playing. That feeling of exhaustion after a game, that feeling of doing recovery and being sore after training.
Sam Bremner has stunned on her return to the game.Credit:NRL Photos
“It’s crazy to say, but I missed those little things, and they’re the things that excite me the most now that I’m back.”
The Jillaroos are in camp on the Gold Coast before they fly to England ahead of their World Cup opener against the Cook Islands at York Community Stadium on November 3, Sydney time.
The reigning champions will play five games in 18 days if they reach the final at Old Trafford, where they will be at short odds to lift the silverware for the third time in a row.
Bremner admits she hated being called a former Jillaroo when she started the year without an NRLW contract after taking a step back from rugby league for the birth of her second child.
The 30-year-old returned at NSWRL premiership level with Cronulla and was quickly called into the NSW squad – the only player in either State of Origin squad who hadn’t played an NRLW game to that point this year. Bremner was hailed by team officials as a breath of fresh air for a side desperate to end two years of interstate heartbreak – which the Sky Blues ultimately accomplished in Canberra.
Bremner soon made her NRLW return with the Sydney Roosters, and within five games Jillaroos coach Brad Donald had seen enough.
