Ipswich’s Ali Brigginshaw has captained the Brisbane Bronco’s to a historic three-peat premiership win in a competitive NRLW Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters.
Brigginshaw has cemented her place as one of the game’s greats after also winning the Dally M Female Player of the Year last week.
The 20-10 victory over the Roosters did not come easy with the Broncos only having a narrow lead of 12-10 at half time, but the talent on display from the team in slippery conditions was undeniable.
It wasn’t just Brigginshaw who was representing Ipswich in the centre of the field.
Ipswich’s Belinda Sharpe was on the whistle refereeing the match after cutting her teeth running the footy fields here in Ipswich.
Briggenshaw acknowledged her efforts before lifting the trophy in her after game speech.
“Thank you Belinda, you are paving the way for women in sport and you did a great job out there today,” she said.
Brigginshaw is not just impressive on the field captaining the NRLW Premiers, Queensland and Australia, but it is her off the field contributions all around Queensland that are perhaps her most impressive.
Ali Brigginshaw with Ipswich State High School students. Image: nrl.com.au
As a Beyond the Broncos ambassador and Student Support Offer Brigginshaw spends a lot of time giving back to the community.
Despite a difficult year with COVID-19 restrictions, she has stay connected with video messages and zoom hook ups with people from Camp Quality, Multicap and members of the Broncos community.
One such moment she will never forget is meeting Charli Berghauser before she underwent life-saving surgery.
Once the five-year-old league player was feeling better, Brigginshaw organised for her to have a behind the scenes tour of the stadium before heading out with the team at a Broncos game.
Brigginshaw spends time between training sessions giving back to those who need it most in her hometown of Ipswich.
Brigginshaw visits fans in hospitals, gives advice to up and coming league stars and supports junior rugby league clubs in Ipswich, in particular Rosewood Junior Rugby League Club.
She told nrl.com.au recently that she feels very blessed to know she is helping shape the future of this sport, for both young men and women.
While she is a huge role model for young females, she has made it clear that she wants to be an inspiration for both male and females who have challenges or adversity they need to overcome.
