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\n The Big Don’t Argue: Kezie Apps was a key player in NSW retaining the Origin Shield in Brisbane
\n \u00a9Scott Davis\/NRL Photos
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Kezie Apps well remembers the jibes about her height and build in the school playground.<\/p>\n
But those characteristics she has used splendidly as she forged her rugby league career through the Bega Roosters, Helensburgh Tigers, St George Illawarra Dragons, Wests Tigers, NSW Blues, Prime Minister\u2019s XIII and Jillaroos.<\/p>\n
\u201cRugby league gave me confidence and it\u2019s given me purpose,\u201d Apps told NRL.com in the lead-up to playing her 20th game for NSW in Origin Three at Cbus Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing through life before playing, I loved sport and I really wanted to play sport. But I\u2019m not a small person \u2013 I\u2019m a big human \u2013 so I stood out for the wrong reasons being tall and with my build.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a way I didn\u2019t fit in, but finding rugby league, I felt my purpose. I could use my strength and build in a sport I absolutely loved, and I never thought that would be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n The Big Don’t Argue: Kezie Apps was a key player in NSW retaining the Origin Shield in Brisbane
\n \u00a9Scott Davis\/NRL Photos
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The Blues are especially grateful rugby league found Apps with her consistency, strength, skills and leadership making her one of the best in the jersey since 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s timeless \u2026 she absolutely is,\u201d said NSW hooker and Jillaroos teammate Olivia Higgins.<\/p>\n
\u201cI first met Kezie in Country camp and she made me feel so welcome. I was in awe of what she achieved and several years later and I still am.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so proud of her because she\u2019s had to fight for her spot and she always comes out on top.\u201d<\/p>\n
NSW skipper Isabelle Kelly has been around Apps the longest \u2013 she began her Blues career in 2015 and will play her 19th game for her state on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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\n Kezie Apps was the 2016 Dally M Medallist
\n \u00a9NRL Photos
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\u201cShe\u2019s humble and she\u2019s the first person there for everyone,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s one of my closest friends over the years and has taught me so much as a leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer kind nature and beautiful soul are the two stand-outs for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corban Baxter has played with Apps in NSW and Australian colours as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s so inspirational and she\u2019s done so much in her career captaining her club, state and country \u2013 she\u2019s someone I look up to a lot,\u201d Baxter said.<\/p>\n
Apps celebrates 20 NSW appearances on Thursday night but only 16 of those were under the Origin banner, or since 2018. However, the previous four are as equally as important to Apps.<\/p>\n
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\n ![\"Kezie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/45862016_brownet-150614702.jpg\"\/)
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\n Kezie Apps in action for NSW in 2016.
\n \u00a9NRL Photos
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\u201cThose games in the Interstate Challenge are still very important to me because it was still the same passion, the same pride back then,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started in 2014 and it was at Leichhardt Oval, and I love that ground, so it will always be special to me. But there wasn\u2019t any crowd as it was literally just our families and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fast forward to 23,000-plus at Suncorp Stadium for Game Two to kick off Magic Round and the difference over 12 years is stark.<\/p>\n
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NSW Blues v QLD Maroons – Game I, 2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so lucky to see the growth in this space. In 2015 we played before an NRL match and that was huge for us as it meant we got some TV coverage,” she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2016 we played at Cbus Stadium, which we\u2019re heading to on Thursday, so that\u2019s pretty cool.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have really great memories of that stadium as it was the first time we\u2019d beaten Queensland since the Interstate Challenge started in 1999.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Blues have won back-to-back Origin series for the first time since 2018-2019 but the job is not done. They want a 3-0 result this year after a 2-1 result in 2025 when they let Game Three slip before a home crowd in Newcastle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so crazy to see the game go from even when I started to where it is now \u2026 to get so many people invested and supporting our product,\u201d Apps said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always knew we had great athletes but no-one else knew because it wasn\u2019t televised, there wasn\u2019t much media around it.<\/p>\n
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“I still pinch myself”: Apps<\/p>\n
“Fast forward over 12 years and the crowds are amazing, we have stand-alone games and we have a three-game series \u2013 it\u2019s wild.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apps had to give up rugby league at age 12 because there were no pathways in the NSWRL as there is now with Lisa Fiaola Cup (Under 17s) and Tarsha Gale (Under 19s) and the NSW Women\u2019s Premiership \u2013 the reserve grade for the NRLW in tandem with the QRL\u2019s BMD Premiership.<\/p>\n
So, she didn\u2019t have female players as role models at first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI supported the Parramatta Eels and I loved watching Nathan Hindmarsh play. He was pretty much my favourite.\u201d<\/p>\n
And now Apps is the favourite for many young girls and boys wanting to play rugby league.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor not just me but all the girls here in (NSW) camp) what we\u2019re playing for is bigger than any of us as individuals. We\u2019re playing for our state, our families. Origin brings families together and that means everything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kezie Apps well remembers the jibes about her height and build in the school playground. But those characteristics…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-448744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}