As she prepares to make her NRLW debut this weekend against the Cowboys, we chat to promising 19-year-old hooker, Chelsea Savill.
Savill joined the club this season from the Illawarra Steelers, where she was a key member of their undefeated 2024 Tarsha Gale Cup (U/19s) premiership-winning side.
Fellow Wests Tigers players, Evie McGrath and Darcy Eade, also played in that Illawarra team and having two teammates make the move alongside her made it less daunting.
“I played for Berkeley Eagles and Wests Devils as a kid and then played for Steelers, so I’ve always been in that system,” Savill explained.
“Coming to a new club, I didn’t know anybody, so having them [McGrath and Eade] definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable.
“Just having familiar faces there has been good and has been helping me a lot.”
Savill is part of the first generation of players young enough to have grown up watching the NRLW, and the NSW U/19s representative expressed her delight at having the opportunity to be mentored by her first rugby league inspiration.
“Kezie’s [Apps] a big name throughout the game and it’s been really cool to train alongside her.
“She’s made me feel really comfortable and she’s had my back.
“She’s had a lot of confidence in me and she’s gotten around me a lot this week.”
The young dummy-half is excited to showcase her skill this weekend and represent her family, especially a loved one lost in recent years.
[Making NRLW] has been a dream of mine since I first started playing U/7s, so I’m really excited to play.
Chelsea Savill
“I’m focused on my role for this week in my first game but I’d love to play the rest of the games this season too.
“My nan was a big person in my life, she’d take me to a lot of my games but unfortunately she passed away a few years ago.
“I’m just so grateful to be able to do this for her.”
