New knee blow puts Tillett on the sideline
THE Far North rugby league community rejoiced as one of their own appeared to have overcome a horrific run with injuries last week – less than 24 hours later they were fearing for her season.
Tahlulah Tillett went down with a knee injury while training with her Brisbane Broncos teammates on Sunday, ahead of this weekend’s NRL Women’s Nines in Perth.
It was a heart-in-mouth moment for the 21-year-old rugby league talent, who was on the cusp of making a successful return after three consecutive knee injuries robbed her of almost two full seasons.
Tillett, the daughter of former Cowboys player Stephen, regularly trains alongside the Northern Pride’s Intrust Super Cup squad, which she has done since the 2019 pre-season.
Pride head coach Ty Williams, who reached out to Tillett upon learning about her latest misfortune, said the injury was unfortunate but, thankfully, not as long-term as thought.
“It’s just a minor MCL, so it’s not her ACL at the moment, which is good,” he said.
“If she doesn’t go across with the Broncos to Perth, she’ll come back up here and we’ll throw her in with the rehab group for probably four to five weeks.
“She might not be ready for Round 1 of the QRL ladies’ competition but it’s not as bad as what we first thought.
“I spoke to her twice on Tuesday and she was pretty upbeat, but obviously she’s got to adjust to it moving forward.”
The injury was Tillett’s fourth knee-related setback since May 2017.
“It’s becoming more of a mental challenge for T at the moment,” William said.
“The luck’s not on her side. “Our role moving forward is to get her to rehab and get her fit again, but also to talk to her mentally. Speaking to the Cairns Post the day before the injury, Tillett could not contain her excitement with being selected.
“(Broncos coach Kelvin Wright) called me after I got back from the Queensland (representative) camp and as soon as he said who he was I had a smile from ear to ear,” she said.
“He told me the good news and it was just a huge achievement. I told my mum and dad straight away and they were both very happy – mum was in tears.
“I’m just really looking forward to getting out and playing football – it’s just going to be an awesome experience.”
She acknowledged the tough path she’s had to follow to get to where she wanted to be.
“It’s always been a goal and a couple of injuries isn’t going to stop me from doing what I came to achieve,” she said.
Tillett will be hoping her latest setback won’t hamper her chances of playing for the North Queensland Gold Stars when the inaugural QRL Women’s Premiership gets underway in March.