‘She’s an incredible coach’: Jess Skinner makes one major change as she prepares for first Test in charge of the Jillaroos

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‘She’s an incredible coach’: Jess Skinner makes one major change as she prepares for first Test in charge of the Jillaroos

Try-scoring machine Julia Robinson says nothing has changed under interim Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner as the Aussies look to light up Las Vegas with a convincing win over England,

but there is one key difference with a superstar returning to the starting side.

Sunday’s clash will be Skinner’s first as interim coach since she replaced Brad Donald, who stepped down from the role following a long and successful stint in charge of the national side.

Donald’s position was on shaky ground after he overlooked Dally M Medal winner Olivia Kernick for last year’s Pacific Championships, while it also emerged that he used a profanity while talking about a reporter during last year’s tournament.

Skinner is no stranger to the Jillaroos having worked with Donald for several years, while she recently led the women’s Indigenous All Stars side to victory thanks to a late penalty goal.

Camera IconBrad Donald is no longer coach of the Jillaroos following a couple of controversial moments in 2024. Credit: Supplied

She hasn’t had to make any drastic changes to one of Australia’s most dominant national teams but has brought Kernick straight back into the starting side for the showdown against England at Allegiant Stadium.

“She’s been part of the program for a few years and she’s come in as head coach and we’re all vibing her,” Robinson told SENQ Breakfast.

“She’s an incredible coach, she’s done so much for the women’s game and we’re very excited to be led by her.

“She’s making us feel so connected as a team, so I think coming into this camp, there hasn’t been much of a difference because she still wants to keep the same values that we’ve had at the Jillaroos over the past few years.”

Sunday’s Test kicks off a hectic few months for Robinson and her Jillaroos teammates, with Queensland players set to head into a camp next week to get ready for State of Origin that begins on May 1.

Robinson will again be one of the key players for that series, with the powerhouse winger fresh from a dominant 2024 that included scoring six tries in a game against PNG and topping the try-scoring list in the NRLW along with two others.

The NRLW season doesn’t begin until July 3, but a tough pre-season is the perfect preparation for an expanded competition that is only getting ******* and better.

“We don’t officially start until July, but we still have so much footy at the start of the year,” she said.

“We’ve got our Origin camp coming up. I fly back on March 6 and I go into camp on March 8 for Queensland camp, so it just rolls on to the next thing.

“It’s exciting because it’s making us prepare for hopefully when we become full-time. It’s been good that we have Origin at the start of the year and then the NRLW and making sure that we still train and prepare ourselves before going into pre-season.”

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