Ali Brigginshaw has claimed the media only wants to cover women’s rugby league for negative stories, unleashing on journalists who criticised coach Brad Donald for his Jillaroos selections.
Donald raised eyebrows by omitting newly minted Dally M Medallist Olivia Kernick from his 21-player squad for the Pacific Championships that begin against Papua New Guinea this Friday.
NSW’s State of Origin player of the series Jaime Chapman also missed selection as another of the five incumbent Australian representatives dropped from the set-up.
But Kernick’s absence was the most glaring, coming only one day after a superb performance in the Sydney Roosters’ NRLW grand final triumph over Cronulla.
Last week, Donald explained he had picked Mahalia Murphy ahead of Kernick for the Parramatta veteran’s versatility, saying Kernick would be the “next one” called in the event of an injury.
As the Jillaroos began their training camp on the Gold Coast, Brigginshaw came out in defence of her coach, excoriating the media for what she felt was their fickle interest in the women’s game.
“It just shows they only want to talk about it for a small amount of time,” the Jillaroos co-captain said.
“They’re not there week in, week out talking about our game. They only want to show up when there’s something negative to talk about. That’s probably the most disappointing part from our side.
“They want to write the story and attack Brad on certain things but not show up today to training.”
Brigginshaw said Donald’s critics lacked context, but was happy with the playing group’s response to the external scrutiny.
“It’s quite disappointing when journalists want to make a few comments, but they don’t know the true story,” she said.
“There’s been plenty of criticism around the group and around the decisions. I just feel like everyone’s handled it well.
“We know how to deal with it, there are plenty of other girls who missed out alongside Liv, ‘Chappo’, those girls. As a captain now with Kezie (Apps), I’ve just got the job to bring the 21 girls together. That’s what I’m aiming to do.”
Elsewhere, Jillaroos utility Lauren Brown will go for scans on Monday afternoon after suffering a hamstring injury in Australia’s 50-0 defeat of PNG in the Prime Ministers’ XIII match on Sunday.
The situation could give Donald the chance to vindicate his claims that Kernick would be the next player selected in the event of an injury.
But AAP understands a firm decision on Brown’s replacement may be held for later in the week.
Newcastle’s Jesse Southwell would be an option if Donald sought a playmaker to replace Brown: Gold Coast’s halfback when fit this season.
Southwell excelled in the Prime Ministers’ XIII defeat of PNG, who are expected to field a similar team at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
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