GREEN & BOLD
Jillaroos or Kiwi Ferns? Burleigh star makes her choice
BOOM Gold Coast secondrower Tazmin Gray will line up in opposite national colours to her brother after Australia won a tug-of-war for her allegiance.
The 23-year-old, who scored a try for the Roosters in their NRLW grand final loss to Brisbane on Sunday, is set to make her debut for the Jillaroos against New Zealand in Auckland on October 13.
Gray easily could have been on the other side of the field, however.
Her brother is Canberra Raiders and New Zealand Test flyer Jordan Rapana and the Bulletin understands the Kiwi Ferns pushed hard in recent weeks to have her join Rapana in donning the black-and-white.
A three-time Maroons representative, Gray is the only one of her siblings to be born in Australia and ultimately chose in favour of her birth nation.
“They approached me and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity they gave me to be able to represent the Kiwis and the opportunity to decide which nation I wanted to play for,” she said.
“I’m happy with my decision and I have made it around what is going to make me develop as a player.
“I love Origin … I want to be able to play Origin and make myself available for that. It was a hard decision but I am extremely grateful for the Kiwis to give me the decision to make.”
On wearing different national colours to her brother, Gray said: “I know that I’m proud of him and he is just as proud of me for making the decision that I have made.”
Her journey to a Jillaroos debut is made all the more remarkable by the fact she gave birth to her second daughter, Kyan, in February this year.
“I didn’t think those goals were achievable just yet,” said Gray, who is joined in the Jillaroos squad by her Burleigh club teammate Zahara Temara.
“To be able to play again was the biggest goal for me to achieve this year; the rest has just been a bonus to be honest.”
Gray’s husband Anthony, a former Intrust Super Cup forward for the Bears who played for Tugun this year, cut a delighted figure.
“It’s definitely been a long road back to get to where she is now and I am extremely proud of how she has conducted herself,” he said.
The couple, who regularly engage in footy talk at home, also have a threeyear-old daughter Velarn.