No off-season surgery needed and no dent in her Origin motivation has True Blue Kirra Dibb eager to rip into season 2025.
After being part of the winning NSW Women’s Origin teams in 2019 and 2022, Dibb was on the extended bench for all three matches in 2024.
Although she didn’t get on the field, Dibb, 27, is not wavering in her determination to get back into a NSW jersey.
“Obviously it’s a little heart-breaking because the rep teams are where you want to be – that would be the same for a lot of players. The Blues jersey means a lot to us,” Dibb told nswrl.com.au.
“It was lovely and hard at the same time. It was so nice to be around the girls – some of the best players in our game – and I was still a part of the very first three-game series.
“But you want to get on the field, especially the way my brain works. From the sideline you see some areas you think you could assist the team with.
“But I love being around the girls again after not being there in 2023 at all.
“My motivation is still strong to get out there. I’ve still got a lot of time in my career.
“Any jersey is a privilege.”
A Jillaroo in 2019, a Prime Minister's XIII rep a month ago, and a three-time member of the NRL Indigenous All Stars team - including being named Player of the Match in this year’s 26-4 win over Maori - means Dibb has a strong representative pedigree.
But as she enters the last two seasons of her current NRLW contract with North Queensland Cowboys, Dibb is already preparing her body and mind for 2025.
“Building into next year, we’ve been given a program from the Cowboys to keep us on track,” she said.
“We’ve already done a strength and conditioning session with our coaches to see where we’re at this time of year.
“Everything is online – an app which controls the program – and things we’re being given to do are achievable on our own because we don’t want anyone getting injured.
“I also try to watch what I eat, stay in touch with teammates. But you also have to prioritise connecting with family, with friends, so getting that separation from football.
“It’s important to build towards next season but mentally still getting some time out.
“It’s so much easier to drive a couple of hours to see family now that I’m back in NSW rather than flying for a couple of hours from Townsville just to get into NSW.”
A former North Sydney Bears player, Dibb lives on Sydney’s northern beaches and her family reside on the Central Coast and in Newcastle.
She has no major injuries that needed any off-season surgery – just a few niggles to rest – but she realises everyone in Queensland and NSW will have the same preparation next year. Both the NSWRL Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership and the QRL’s BMD Premiership will run concurrently with the 2025 NRLW season starting in July.
It means a long lead-in to the first Women’s State of Origin game in May.
“When we had Harvey Norman first and then everything else in the middle (Origin) and then the NRLW, I was really pooped,” she said.
“But this year I feel really good. I’m actually training earlier at a higher intensity than I did last year and I think mentally this year I’ve learned to schedule myself better – when to rest, when to hype it up.”
The dates for next year’s Ampol Women’s State of Origin series are due to be announced by the NRL.
