19-year-old Claudia Brown made her NRLW debut in Round 8, as the Development Player was brought into the side off the back of a strong season in the NSW Women’s Premiership.
The young forward came away with a nasty shiner to show for it too:
Brown: Black eye but super stoked
A former Westfields Sports High School student, Brown has an athletics background and incredibly, played her first-ever competitive game of rugby league in the NSW Women’s Premiership.
“I was a sprinter and a thrower growing up but then I got into the touch football program because we didn’t have a contact rugby league program at school at the time,” Brown explained.
“I registered to play for St Johns Eagles when I was 16 but never got to play due to having to get an ACL reco.
“I then actually played my first proper game of league for North Sydney Bears in the Harvey Norman comp in 2022, as I was too young to play in Tarsha Gale.
“I was pretty nervous but I loved it and that was the moment I knew I wanted to do this sport and play NRLW one day.”
After joining Wests Tigers on a Development deal, Brown was uncertain whether a debut was in the pipeline for this year but was ecstatic after finally getting onto the field.
“I joined Wests Tigers last year in the Roar program and since then I’ve just been playing Tarsha Gale and Harvey Norman until I was able to get my debut.
“The Dev players had a conversation with Noddy at the start of the year around what we’re entitled to and how we could only get brought up into the squad if there are injuries.
“Even after the squad had a few injuries, I wasn’t sure whether it’d be my time or whether I’d still have some learning to do but once I saw my name on the board in the team meeting I was just in absolute shock and tears.”
As she progresses further into her career, Claudia is grateful to be a part of the strong culture at Wests Tigers, as well as having the support of one of her rugby league heroes in mentoring her.
I see myself at Wests Tigers into the future, they’ve been the biggest supporters of me on this journey and have given me so many opportunities
Claudia Brown
“I’ve always idolised ‘Sala’ Togatuki; the person she is on and off the field, her aggression and grit, are all things that inspire me to do the same.
“As a middle forward, I’ve always made sure to be around her, even going back to when we were at North Sydney.
With Montana Clifford returning to the side after serving HIA protocol, Brown is the 18th player for Wests Tigers’ final match of the 2024 season, but Coach Brett Kimmorley was quick to praise her debut performance as “outstanding”.
And as for that shiner?
“I’m doing good, don’t worry about that.”
