Bartlett on blitz as Dragons fire
After doing it tough with the Warriors in 2020 and having to quarantine twice, Kiwi Ferns winger Madison Bartlett tells David Long she is loving life at the Dragons.
WHEN the Warriors pulled out of the NRLW, winger Madison Bartlett didn’t want it to be the end of her time in the competition.
So she got in touch with the other clubs, managed to get a contract with the Dragons and will be one of their stars in today’s grand final against the Roosters.
The 27-year-old winger from Wairoa is the leading try scorer in the NRLW this season, bagging five in as many games, and has shown that her determination to continue to play top level league has paid off.
‘‘I’ve loved it at the Dragons,’’ Bartlett said. ‘‘When the Warriors pulled out I wasn’t sure whether I was going to be able to play, but I was lucky that the Dragons took a chance on me and I’ve loved my time here.
‘‘I’ve learnt a lot, the girls have been great and we’re really looking forward to the final.’’
In 2020, Bartlett was one of a handful of New Zealand players who chose to spend two weeks in quarantine in Australia so they could play for a Warriors team mainly made up of Australian players.
It was a huge commitment to put their lives on hold for a competition that lasts a month and the thrown-together team only managed to win one of their three games.
‘‘It was pretty tough. I did isolation at both ends, in Australia and New Zealand, which wasn’t fun,’’ Bartlett said.
‘‘But I guess those are the sacrifices we make so we can play the game we love.
‘‘It didn’t put me off, even when I came over here this time, I didn’t have to do isolation but the borders were still closed and I didn’t know if I’d be able to go home at any stage.
I’m lucky now that I can come home next week.’’
The Dragons are the favourites to win the grand final. They beat the Roosters 16-10 in the regular season, but the Roosters did cause an upset by defeating the Brisbane Broncos in the semifinals.
There will be another NRLW Premiership later in the year and Bartlett has her eyes set on playing in that.
‘‘I’ll come back (to New Zealand) and play club, then I’m going to see what it looks like for the second season, and obviously the World Cup is at the end of the year, which is a bigger goal.’’
The current NRLW season was supposed to be played in 2021, but Covid-19 resulted in it being
pushed back. So it all adds up to the biggest year ever for women’s rugby league, especially when you throw in a Kiwi Ferns test at Mt Smart Stadium in June.
‘‘Short term I’d like to make that test in June and then long term the World Cup,’’ Bartlett said.
‘‘For the last World Cup I was one of the last cut, three of us got cut two weeks before, which was tough.
‘‘But I guess if fuelled some fire and hopefully this time around I can make that travelling squad to go to England.’’
The NRLW is expanding to eight teams next year and 10 in 2024. The Warriors want to be back in, but it could be they are one of the two teams added in 2024, rather than next year.
Bartlett played for the Warriors in 2019 and 2020, but she says she doesn’t know if she’ll play for the club again.
‘‘I wouldn’t make any decisions now,’’ she said.
‘‘But I’ve had a taste of what it’s like at another club over here and they’ve been nothing but supportive and super professional.
‘‘If I was to go back to the Warriors, there would need to be a few changes back there, but who knows where I’ll end up?
‘‘Also, living away from home is never easy. All of my family and my partner are back home, so I don’t know, there are pros and cons.’’
Regardless of whether Bartlett returns to the Warriors, she feels it’s crucial for league in New Zealand that they return to the NRLW.
‘‘With young girls, we often lose them to rugby and if the Warriors don’t have a team it’s a really hard pathway for girls living in New Zealand,’’ she said.
‘‘Not everyone has the ability to come over to Australia.
‘‘It’s paramount that we get a team back in and the sooner the better.
‘‘We have 10 of our girls that play in our top competition playing over here . . .’’