Australia’s Jillaroos are favourites to win the Women’s Rugby League World Cup in 2026 for one reason.
It’s not their tactics, their coach nor the home ground advantage. It’s not because of the enormous victories they have recorded in the early rounds. It’s because they are the only team fielding a nominee for The Frownlow Medal.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes: the men’s and women’s National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while AFL player Noah Balta is the most recent recipient.
Millie Elliott (nee Boyle) is the only player in the women’s tournament to have been nominated for the most prestigious prize in Australian sport. History proves that a Frownlow presence is essential to the success of any elite rugby league team.
Elliott was nominated in 2021 after being caught cavorting with future husband Adam Elliott in the toilets of a Gold Coast restaurant. The classy couple entered the men’s toilet and started kissing, with Adam Elliott removing his shirt, before both were ordered to leave the premises.
The NRL issued the Jillaroos star with a warning and she was given education and training regarding the obligations of NRL and NRLW players in public. She was then given a ring by Adam, and the pair are now parents, proving that the couple that ‘plays’ together, stays together.
When the Jillaroos lift the trophy, they must give full credit to their only Frownlow nominee.
Image: NuNa
