Brigginshaw to enter elite club in Pacific Cup final

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Brigginshaw to enter elite club in Pacific Cup final

Tahnee Norris hopes Ali Brigginshaw breaks her record for most games for Australia as the halfback enters an elite club facing New Zealand in the Pacific Cup final.

Co-captain Brigginshaw will join Norris, Natalie Dwyer, Karyn Murphy and Teresa Anderson as one of only five women to make 25 appearances for the Jillaroos when she runs out at CommBank Stadium on Sunday.

Brigginshaw is the only player to have reached the milestone playing in the NRLW era, with the remainder of the quintet retiring before the premiership’s inception in 2018.

The achievement is particularly impressive given the Jillaroos went more than two years without playing a game amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m just really proud,” Brigginshaw told AAP.

“You only dream of pulling on the green and gold jersey once when you’re little but to be able to do it 25 times, it kind of snuck up on me, I guess, but I’m just really proud.”

Brigginshaw has impressed her Queensland State of Origin coach Norris by juggling international commitments with NRLW duties at Brisbane.

The 34-year-old’s 43 NRLW appearances make her the most-capped player in premiership history alongside Sydney Roosters duo Isabelle Kelly and Keeley Davis.

“It’s a big ask to keep going, with the amount of games she’s already played,” Norris told AAP.

“She’s an adaptable player and she does everything off the field to maintain her health and recovery.”

Brigginshaw would equal Norris’ mark of 33 games across the next two years if she played three matches in next year’s Pacific Championships and then five at the World Cup in 2026.

That would require staying fit for the entirety of both tournaments, and assumes Australia will make it to a fifth consecutive World Cup final.

Norris is confident in Brigginshaw’s ability to reach beyond her milestone.

“I hope so, I think she can,” said Norris, who will coach Papua New Guinea against Samoa on Sunday.

“She can hold that record, that’s all for her, to put her hand up and keep playing. We’ll see how she goes.”

Brigginshaw will be 37 by the end of 2026 but has not put a time-frame on her career.

“I think there still is time to go,” she said.

“I wouldn’t say that’s a goal (to break the record) that I have on the list but I just love playing for this jersey, this country. You get to play with the best in the world, so who wouldn’t want to keep playing?”

The Jillaroos defeated the Kiwi Ferns in Christchurch a fortnight ago but are wary of their foes, who waged an upset in the 2023 Pacific Cup final despite losing to the Jillaroos earlier in that tournament.

Coach Brad Donald felt the Jillaroos had learned their lessons from the 12-6 defeat in last year’s final.

“We were definitely complacent last year,” Donald said.

“The Kiwi Ferns of 2024 are way better than 2023 so we’ve been making sure we’re dotting every I and crossing every T to make sure that we’re ready on Sunday.”

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