“In the off-season, I move home. In-season, Sharks put me up in an apartment, and out of season, I move home with mum and dad … and mum and dad look after my horses while I’m not there, and then in the off-season I compete when I can,” Johnston said.
“I love my barrel racing, so I’ve been crossing between barrel racing and show jumping, which is really different. Show jumping is just a bit of fun for me, and I had a young horse that I was teaching, so just getting him disciplined in all areas.”
Johnston has been on the verge of an Origin debut for two years. She was 18th-woman for NSW in 2023, and was a reserve for all three games of the 2024 series. But after a career-best year in NRLW, which included a grand final appearance for the Sharks, Blues coach John Strange had no option but to pick the in-form prop.
“Putting girls in this squad was picked on form last year, but it was also picked on how the girls handled the semi-finals, and in particular, obviously there were only two teams in the grand final– but how they handle that pressure,” Strange said.
“And in that game for Cronulla, Ellie was outstanding. She just kept going, she has a big motor, she got rewarded with a bit of a freakish try in the second half, but that was just because of the effort she kept putting in for her team in a big game. She got into the squad based on last year’s efforts, and then the way she trained in this six-week block, it made it near impossible for me to leave her out.”
Church and state: Eels star’s remarkable rise from ambulance to Origin
Abbi Church never thought she’d get this moment.
At 27 years of age, she had accepted that perhaps her NRLW career had already peaked. Then, she got a call from Blues coach John Strange.
NSW fullback Abbi Church was shocked to find out she had been named to make her Origin debut.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
“The phone call [that I was] coming into the [squad of] 20 and that I’d be No.1, obviously I was stoked, and I was very much shocked,” Church said.
“I couldn’t believe it. He said, do you have any questions, and I couldn’t even think at the time; I was pretty speechless.”
Church didn’t pick up the footy until she was 21, when she started playing for local club the Camden Rams. Six years later, she’s set to make her Origin debut for NSW at Suncorp Stadium on May 1.
“It [footy] was something I started because I always wanted to try league and never thought it would go somewhere for me,” she said. “And then, progressing up the pathways and then into the NRLW, I honestly thought that was probably where I would stop.
“You just never think you’ll be standing here in this jersey, and especially [because] I’m a little later in my career now. You see all the younger girls coming through and playing representative [football] quite early; I thought maybe that time had passed for me, but we’re just getting started.”
For Strange, Church’s performances during the 2024 NRLW season made it impossible not to name her in his 30-player camp earlier this year.
Church notched up 20 Dally M points in 2024, just two behind medal winner Olivia Kernick. She also collected the Dally M fullback of the year award. It was a strong argument for a spot in Strange’s NSW side.
“She made a case through NRLW last year of getting in the extended squad for sure because that extended squad was picked on form from last year,” Strange said. “The suggestion there for me is she was consistent every game to tally those points up for Parramatta.
“The fact that she’s developed into that, little bit more experience now, a few years of NRLW now, but had consistency, I just think this is the next step for her in her career, and she’s been outstanding at every training session … Just a lot of energy. She’s a great talker, a great communicator, organises the defensive line really well, and she’s tough.
“She’s not the biggest body, but she’s very tough, and when we’ve done full contact sessions at training she’s put herself in front of all the front-rowers and put everything into everything she’s done. Everything about her has impressed.”
Abbi Church is a full-time paramedic along with being an NRLW player.Credit: Wolter Peeters
As with many NRLW players, Church has to manage her football career alongside her full-time job as a paramedic.
It’s a balancing act, with Church often needing to shift her work commitments to accommodate games and training. But after four years in the NRLW, she knows how to make it work.
“First few years was a bit of a struggle, a bit of a balancing act,” she said. “I’m very fortunate that the ambulance service does support me in my sporting career, so they work with me.
“I have to drop down my hours unfortunately to do my training commitments and game scheduling. Pre-season [for NRLW] is a couple of weeks away, so I had a chat to them, and they were very excited that this is the opportunity I was given, and they worked with me again.”
And while it’s a lot to fit in, Church said her skills and experience on the road as a paramedic have helped make her a better footballer.
“I think just being able to remain calm in stressful situations [is helpful],” Church said.
“There’s obviously other teamwork skills and communication, and that stuff transfers naturally, but I think being able to ground myself at work in stressful situations has really helped me on the football field to sort of reset and handle that pressure.”
Strange halves call no shock for players
When new Blues coach John Strange named his team on Wednesday for Origin I, his halves pairing of Jesse Southwell and Tiana Penitani Gray was a surprise to most.
It’s not that the two don’t deserve their spots: Southwell is a two-time premiership-winning halfback and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner, while Penitani Gray is a staple of the Australian team and captained Cronulla to the NRLW grand final last year. But with Penitani Gray playing at centre for the Sharks and the Jillaroos, her move to the halves was surprising, with the likes of Kirra Dibb, Emma Verran (nee Tonegato) and Jocelyn Kelleher also named in the game one squad.
NSW halves pairing Tiana Penitani Gray (left) and Jesse Southwell.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
But the decision came as no surprise to Southwell or Penitani, who will run out in the halves for NSW at Suncorp Stadium on May 1. Strange’s decision has been six weeks in the making.
“I’ve basically trained in that position over the last six weeks,” Penitani Gray said. “I knew very early on that that’s potentially where I could be playing.
“There’s a lot of us that have trained in and out of different positions. I think that’s a real strength of this squad of 30 that’s gotten us here – the versatility, and the ability for a lot of us to play in multiple different positions.”
With no NRLW leading into the Origin period, NSW held a six-week training block with a squad of 30 to pick the game one team.
Tiana Penitani crosses for the Blues in Newcastle in 2024.Credit: Getty Images
Strange made it clear no one’s position was safe, and every option would be explored, but he also signalled to Penitani Gray he wanted her more involved.
“Watching Tiana play for a number of years, I think she could be a really great fullback, and a really good five-eighth, especially in the way that we play,” Strange said.
“But as a five-eighth, she’s a great runner of the ball, she’s very skillful, she’s got a good passing game. She’s obviously been an outstanding centre, but for me, I wanted to get her more involved and get her hands on the ball a little bit more, so she can be that running threat a little bit more.”
There’s also a very practical benefit from Penitani Gray’s move to the halves, as it frees up a spot in the Blues back line for centre Jess Sergis. And Penitani Gray has played in the halves before, at an international level for Tonga and Australia.
At just 20, Southwell has already had an interesting Origin career.
After being brought into the side as a teenager in 2023, the Knights halfback was dropped in favour of Rachael Pearson for the 2024 series.
“It is disheartening and disappointing, but it’s a learning experience, and that’s part of my journey now,” Southwell said.
“I think I’ve grown a lot as a person, and I’m just super eager to learn, and continue to learn. I’ve got a lot to learn, and there are so many girls in this squad that I’m really excited to learn from.”
Young halfback Jesse Southwell has been brought back into the NSW side for 2025.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Strange was eager to bring Southwell back into the fold given the promise she’s shown at such a young age, as he looks to find a successful combination for NSW for the years to come.
“Jesse’s a really good organiser,” Strange said. “I’ve been working hard with that with her for the last six weeks on running the team. So, really what it’s about is Jesse getting the team in the right position to free up space for Tiana.
“She [Southwell] rings me outside of training and asks questions, and that’s been really impressive. She wants to learn, and she wants to understand how to play this level as a halfback, which as a coach, I’m really impressed with. I know that the girls, and particularly, myself have every confidence in her.”
Southwell returns as Blues seek Origin redemption
John Strange has shaken things up with his first selections as NSW coach, naming four debutants and a new-look halves pairing for game one of the 2025 women’s State of Origin series.
The Blues named their 20-woman squad on Wednesday ahead of game one in Brisbane on May 1, with halfback Jesse Southwell back in the fold after being snubbed in 2024 and Sharks skipper Tiana Penitani Gray to start at five-eighth as the Blues seek redemption following consecutive series defeats under the coaching of Kylie Hilder.
The NSW team for game one of the women’s State of Origin series.Credit: Getty Images
Strange, who is also the head coach of NRLW premiers the Sydney Roosters, stuck close to the successful recipe of his club side, naming six Roosters players, including debutants Jayme Fressard and Jocelyn Kelleher, along with Jessica Sergis, Isabelle Kelly, Keeley Davis and Olivia Kernick.
Roosters captain Kelly was named NSW captain on her own, after having co-captained the team with veteran Kezie Apps during the past two years.
Sharks prop Ellie Johnston will also make her debut, along with Eels fullback Abbi Church, who beat veteran Emma Verran (nee Tonegato) to the No.1 jersey.
It means NSW will have a new spine for the 2025 series, with Davis to start at hooker instead of Olivia Higgins, and Kelleher to play as a utility off the bench.
With no NRLW action before the Origin series, the NSW team held a six-week training camp with a pool of 30 players. Strange selected his Origin side from among that group.
Tiana Penitani Gray will wear the No. 6 jersey for NSW in Origin I on May 1.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
There has been plenty of tinkering among the NSW halves in the past few seasons, with Rachael Pearson, Corban Baxter, Taliah Fuimaono, Kirra Dibb and Southwell all making appearances in the past three series. Strange is keen to find a successful and consistent combination for NSW sooner rather than later.
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“It would be great to have some consistency there in the halves, but we’ve just got to see,” Strange said.
“The girls that have been picked for Origin I, they’ve got to perform and keep their spots because there are exceptional players in our squad of 30 that have missed out.”
Strange and Kelly were optimistic that the changes from last year’s team would result in success, but the coach said he won’t be afraid to make changes if he isn’t satisfied with performances.
“It’s not even if the game doesn’t go our way. I’ve been really open with girls, if we lose a game, that doesn’t mean we’re making changes, but also if we win, that doesn’t mean we’re not making changes,” Strange said.
“It’s going to be picked on every individual doing their role. I’ve made a lot of changes over the years as a coach to winning sides because it’s about everyone contributing.”
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