England international Hollie-Mae Dodd is the first player from these shores to sign a contract with an NRLW club after agreeing a move to newcomers Canberra Raiders; the 19-year-old has emerged as one of the stars of the Betfred Women's Super League in recent seasons
Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:38, UK
The graceful world of ballroom dancing may seem a million miles away from the blood and thunder of rugby league, but England star Hollie-Mae Dodd is in no doubt her background in the former has helped her in the latter.
The 19-year-old second row is one of the country's brightest young talents and is set to make more history when she joins Australian side Canberra Raiders from York Valkyrie, becoming the first English player to sign a contract with an NRLW club.
Dodd swapped her dancing shoes for rugby boots after being encouraged to try the sport by one of her teachers and it has proven to be a life-changing decision, although she still finds herself putting some of what she picked up into practice when playing.
"All my family used to dance, and I've been dancing since I was young - I was born into dancing, basically," Dodd told Sky Sports on a media call.
"When I went to high school in Year 7, one of the teachers asked me to go down and start rugby training, and since then I've never looked back.
"People always laugh about the fact I've got dancing feet and some of the aspects from dancing I do use on the rugby pitch.
"I didn't dance on my own, I danced with a partner, so it's like a team sport and that's helped me out as well."
From playing for her school and impressing in the National Schools Finals, Dodd was brought into the fold at Betfred Women's Super League club Castleford Tigers and became the youngest player to feature in a Challenge Cup final aged just 16 when they were beaten 16-10 by Leeds Rhinos in 2019.
She then followed her former Tigers head coach Lindsay Anfield to York ahead of the 2022 season, helping the club win the BWSL League Leaders' Shield and the inaugural Women's Nines, along with reaching the Grand Final for the first time.
The defeat to Leeds at Totally Wicked Stadium was offset somewhat by Dodd being named as the Women's Super League's young player of the year for 2022, and she went on to score two tries in four appearances as England reached the semi-finals of last year's home Rugby League World Cup.
It was just before that tournament the former Castleford Academy pupil was contacted by an agency and put in contact with several clubs before ultimately choosing Canberra, and she is excited by the opportunity to further develop in a full-time environment at one of the NRLW's newest clubs.
People always laugh about the fact I've got dancing feet and some of the aspects from dancing I do use on the rugby pitch.
"It's a dream," Dodd, who turned down the chance to join an Australian club when she was 16 as she did not feel ready then, said. "I know most of the players now are wanting to be full-time athletes, but we're just not there yet in this country.
"Now is my opportunity and I'm just going to take it, and I can't wait to be over there playing and being a full-time athlete because that's what ever girl dreams of when they start playing rugby league.
"I'm looking forward to the challenge. I know it's going to be a challenging time for me and being away from my family will probably be the hardest because I'm really close to them.
"I'm really looking forward to playing alongside top athletes and hopefully developing as a player."
Dodd, who helped York make it two wins from two to start the new BWSL season in her final appearances, is likely to be joined in Australia in 2023 by Rhinos duo Fran Goldthorp and Georgia Roche as well.
The opportunities in the NRLW are expanding with Canberra, Cronulla Sharks, North Queensland Cowboys and Wests Tigers joining this year to take the competition to 10 teams - all of which have players contracted for the season on professional deals.
York and Leeds became the first BWSL teams to introduce payments for players ahead of the current season and given the way women's rugby league has been progressing both before and since the World Cup, Dodd does not believe it will be long before the competition in this country is full-time as well.
"I've just taken every opportunity I can, and the game is growing immensely," Dodd said. "From the World Cup, the number of young females getting involved with the sport is amazing.
"I was speaking to someone saying when we played in the World Cup, we couldn't hear ourselves on the pitch because of the amazing crowds we had, and it's really growing as a sport.
"Hopefully we'll be where Australia are in a few years' time and be able to let athletes be full-time."
Sky Sports is the home of all three Super League Grand Finals in 2023. The Men's Grand Final, the Women's Grand Final and the Wheelchair Grand Final will all be live on Sky Sports this season. Also stream on NOW TV.
