The Jillaroos beat England 78-0 at the Women's Rugby League World Cup in Perth, scoring 15 tries, though the win was overshadowed by an injury to centre Julia Robinson. Robinson, who scored early, broke her wrist in a tackle and was taken to hospital, ending her tournament. Australia now lead Pool A with two wins and an 118-point differential. Elsewhere over the weekend, the English men beat France 82-0, Samoa defeated PNG 64-6 and Fiji's women beat PNG 40-4 in Port Moresby.
Emily Chancellor will play her final Test for the Wallaroos against Scotland at Canberra Stadium. The 35-year-old has played 42 Tests and captained the team in 2025. She says she wants young girls to see women's rugby and believe they can take part. Chancellor says the team's future will be limitless once it becomes full-time ahead of the 2029 World Cup, which Australia will host. She plans to keep promoting the team after she retires.
Registrations are open for a revived women's baseball competition in Canberra, backed by Baseball Canberra. The competition folded in 2018 due to low participation. Organisers aim to create four mixed teams, with weekly Monday training and Friday games at Narrabundah Ballpark. Players aged 15 and above can join the 2026/27 season, which runs in two blocks, from 13 November to 18 December and from 29 January to 5 March.
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Three Mid North Coast players were part of the Oztag Tagaroos team that won the International Tag Federation World Cup in Coffs Harbour last weekend. The Tagaroos beat Great Britain in the final after the match finished one all and went to extra time. Di Mascord and Claire Thurlow made their debuts for Australia, while Natalie West was playing for her nation for the second time. The team won despite muddy grounds and only two group practice sessions beforehand.
Australia opened its bid for a fourth straight Women's Rugby League World Cup with a 40-0 win over Samoa. Debutant Jocelyn Kelleher was named player of the match, and the Jillaroos led 28-0 at half-time. Jaime Chapman, Julia Robinson, Shaylee Bent, Keeley Nizza and Olivia Kernick all scored in the first half, with Keilee Joseph and Jessica Sergis adding tries later. Kelleher said the team still had work to do after an imperfect performance. Samoa, playing in their first World Cup since 2008, created early chances but could not convert them.
Tasmania have ended a 30-year wait for a WNBL team, beating Geelong Venom 103-90 in the season opener. The game was played before a sold-out crowd at the Derwent Entertainment Centre on Thursday night. Captain Darcee Garbin scored 20 points, and six Jewels players reached double figures. Geelong had a new coach, Cheryl Chambers, and Maddison Rocci scored a game-high 33 points in defeat. Chambers said Han Xu would return for the Venom's next match.
Western Jets player Tayla Olivieri, who only started playing football at 14, hopes to be selected by an AFLW club in this year's draft. She began playing with her friends for fun before deciding to pursue the game more seriously. Olivieri recently represented Vic Metro at the under-18 national championships and tested at the AFLW state combine. She said the combine invitation was a special opportunity and that she enjoyed speaking with different clubs. Olivieri plans to keep working on her strengths and weaknesses before the draft.
The Women's National Basketball League begins its second season under private ownership on Thursday night. The Tasmania Jewels, a new franchise, will host the Geelong Venom in Hobart in the opening game. The league has signed Chinese national team players, including Shuyu Yang and Siyu Yang, and Han Xu will return to Geelong. Retired Opals star Lauren Jackson, now Chief Strategy and Basketball Partnerships Officer, said privatisation has helped the league grow. Crowd figures rose 43 per cent last season, while broadcast reach increased 130 per cent.
Newcastle Knights hooker Olivia Higgins has been named in the 23-player Jillaroos squad for the Rugby League World Cup, to be held on home soil. Higgins, 34, is considering retirement next season. The top-ranked Jillaroos open their title defence this Friday against Fetu Samoa at CommBank Stadium in Sydney. Isabelle Kelly has been promoted to captain. Broncos veteran Ali Brigginshaw was overlooked for the squad, though coach Jess Skinner has said she will be kept around the 2026 World Cup group.
Jessica Skinner is preparing for her first Women's Rugby League World Cup as head coach of the Jillaroos. The tournament will be held next month in Brisbane, where Australia seeks a fourth straight title. Skinner, a Barkindji and Māori woman from Trangie in regional New South Wales, says her focus is on the people in her team. She has risen through grassroots coaching and assistant roles, and hopes to show that women and Indigenous people can succeed at the elite level.
