Trailblazing ex-York second-row, 21, has come a long way from her roots in Castleford to Australia and now preparing for historic international in Sin City
Trailblazing ex-York second-row, 21, has come a long way from her roots in Castleford to Australia and now preparing for historic international in Sin City Trailblazing ex-York second-row, 21, has come a long way from her roots in Castleford to Australia and now preparing for historic international in Sin City
Hollie-Mae Dodd is going out of her mind as she bids to complete a surreal journey from Cas Vegas to Las Vegas.
The England second-row is one of women’s rugby league’s big trailblazers. She became the youngest player to ever play in a Challenge Cup final in 2019, making her debut for hometown Castleford the day after her 16th birthday. But Dodd was also the first English player to sign for the Australian NRLW when joining Canberra in April 2023.
She’s been a hit down under and will face some of her club-mates when playing for England against the Australian Jillaroos in Sin City on March 1. Dodd has been back home in the West Yorkshire town of Castleford – often referred to locally as Cas Vegas – over the festive period.
She said: “A few people do still call it that [Cas Vegas]!
“I didn’t always play rugby but as soon as I started I knew I wanted to go somewhere with it. I never even imagined, though, pulling on the England shirt or going to Vegas to play.
“I’ve never been before and it is exciting. To look back now at where I’ve come from, I’m really proud of that. From a small town like Cas I never thought I’d see where I am now playing in Australia and preparing for this trip.”
The international takes place as part of an historic quadruple event in Vegas which also includes a NRL double-header and Wigan facing Warrington in a Super League fixture. With the new NRLW season not due to kick-off until July, Dodd has managed to come home over the festive period and attend weekly training sessions with England.
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“All the girls here are still doing their club pre-season training so I’ve been losing my mind just training on my own,” she explained.
“It’s been great having those meet-ups in Leeds with the England girls. It is a long off-season in Australia. But I’ll probably stay here until we go out to Vegas and then head back to Canberra. I’m really excited. I’ve never played against the Australians and neither have some of the other England girls.
“It’s a massive thing for us. It will be a really hard challenge for us but it’ll set out where we’re going to be at. Us playing teams like Australia and New Zealand will only help us improve towards that World Cup [in 2026].
“There’s a few individuals up for selection from Canberra so it’ll be really good to play against some of the girls.
“And I know some of the other girls from the Australian team so it’s good to go in with a bit of knowledge knowing what those other girls play like.”
Dodd has just signed a new two-year deal with Raiders which takes her through until the end of the 2026 season. On living in the Australian capital, she admitted: “It’s very much similar to home.
“The weather, the people and I think that’s why I like it so much. People say why not go somewhere with a beach but I’m not used to that anyway. The girls and the coach are so welcoming and I thought this is the place I want to play.
“I heard a lot of good things from the English lads who played in Canberra, too. I got a bad knee injury in my first year but came back this year and played the whole season which was pretty good to do considering that injury. I’m loving it over there.”
Mirror – Sport
