Country forward Mackenzie Stephens: 'A real workhorse'
- Author
- Timestamp
With two older brothers, rugby league was something Queensland Under 17 Country forward Mackenzie Stephens naturally fell into.
The 17-year-old, with plenty of support from her parents, plies her trade - and satisfies her love of rough and tumble - with Atherton Roosters and Northern Pride.
She played in the senior women’s competition with the Roosters and Harvey Norman Under 19 competition with Pride – and caught the eye of Country coach Amanda Ohl, who described the young gun as a leader in the group.
“She’s really good… a real workhorse,” Ohl said.
“She's a typical country girl who just wants to get in and have a crack.
“I am expecting big things from her. We're a very little pack and she's probably the biggest one we’ve got, with the most experience having played Harvey Norman Under 19s.
“She's got a fair bit of experience under her young belt.”
Mackenzie said she enjoyed her footy this year and looked forward to representing her state and family against City on Saturday.
“Ever since I was little, I just looked up to my parents and my brothers who played,” Mackenzie said, adding she absolutely loved the game from the moment she started playing.
Match: QLD City v QLD Country
Round 1 -
home Team
QLD City
away Team
QLD Country
Venue: Logan Metro Football Fields, Logan
“I just loved the feeling out of getting out there and getting rough... at first I got all my anger out on the field. Just the feeling of walking out onto the field is so good.”
Mackenzie, usually donning No.13 or No.10, said her role was usually to “get out there, do big runs, hit and stick… have a big defensive game”.
The young gun said she was inspired by Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons coach Tahnee Norris.
“She just knows everything,” Mackenzie said, adding Norris had given her plenty of advice.
“She says to play my role, not to worry about anything else and just play my game.”
Mackenzie said she had aspirations to play in the NRLW and for the Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons.
“It's definitely a big goal for me… I've been training hard for it,” Mackenzie said.
“Hopefully in the next two years, I'll be up there. I like the way Millie Boyle plays… no matter who's in front of her, she just runs as hard as she can, she doesn’t care.
“Origin is something I definitely want to do in life… I can’t even explain how much that would mean. Walking out onto the field would be amazing.”
