Tamika Upton, the world’s best female player, was offered the last roster spot at the Broncos in their inaugural season and told she would merely be used as a crash test dummy at training.
As she chases a record fifth NRLW premiership after returning to Brisbane from Newcastle, Upton now calls the shots at training in her role as co-captain, while coach Scott Prince runs with the reserves in opposed sessions.
The superstar fullback is the first NRLW player to win the Dally M award twice but Upton could easily have been lost to the game before her career really started.
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Tamika Upton’s Dally M hype reel
A touch football representative, Upton didn’t play at all in her first season and was forced to decide whether she wanted to pursue an NRLW career or go back to her job in Rockhampton.
“When I first got picked up in the NRLW I was actually the last squad position,” Upton said.
“I got a call very late, and basically the coach sat me down and he was like, ‘you’re just here to push people for positions’. I was like, ‘sweet, how good is this’. I thought it was the best thing ever.
“I was that person at training that was just filling in numbers in the opposing team.
I was playing frontrow there for a minute, which was a bit scary, but I was just happy to jump in wherever and train wherever.
“The first year I moved away I had to tell my work that I was going for eight weeks. When I came back I had to choose between a really good fulltime job or keep pursuing the footy that I love doing.
“I look at that now and I think it was really cool that they gave me that push. I was like, ‘stuff it, I’m just going to go for it’.”
Tamika Upton was a member of the Broncos squad in 2018 but didn’t play a game in the inaugural NRLW season.
©Scott Davis/NRL Photos
Upton will be a key player in Sunday’s grand final against Sydney Roosters at Accor Stadium, with the 28-year-old proving almost impossible to contain at any level she has played – whether it be for the Jillaroos, Queensland Origin or in 50 NRLW matches for the Broncos and Knights.
She is also a poster girl for touch football and the former Australian representative credits the variant of the game for her work ethic as well as evasive skills and ability to count numbers in defence.
Travelling from the small Central Queensland town of Blackwater to train and play with representative teams also taught Upton about the sacrifices required to make it to the top in the NRLW and the value of family.
“Touch footy wasn’t a professional sport so a lot of the times parents are paying to play, and we were training three times a week, and I was flying to Brisbane most weekends to play,” she said.
“In my childhood, I was thinking ‘I am missing so much stuff, I’m always away’. When friends were having parties, I was never there.
“But I look back at that now and I was learning the dedication, the hard work and the sacrifices that it takes to be a professional athlete.
“My mum was my touch football coach so I couldn’t get away with anything, but she taught me to always be respectful, always pay attention, always listen to your coaches and I like to think that a lot of what my mum did shaped me into the athlete I am today.”
After returning to the Broncos this season following three years in Newcastle, where she helped the Knights to back-to-back premierships in 2022 and 2023, Upton has been working closely with Prince to take the club to their first grand final since 2020.
Appointed co-captain with playmaking great Ali Brigginshaw, Upton – a self-confessed rugby league nerd – is constantly watching NRL and NRLW games and sending ideas to Prince about how the Broncos can improve.
Tamika Upton and Ali Brigginshaw discuss tactics at Broncos training ahead of the 2025 grand final.
©Scott Davis/NRL Photos
“It has been pretty cool to be bouncing ideas with Princey, especially given his knowledge of the game as a player himself,” Upton said of the 2005 Wests Tigers premiership winner and former Queensland Origin halfback.
“We are fortunate to have Princey at the Broncos. He also jumps into opposed sessions and plays the No.7 – he captain-coaches the opposing team to run against us. It’s pretty special. The career he had speaks for itself.”