Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School (IGGS) student Relna Hosea is making a name for herself, her hometown and her school in the world of rugby league.

Recently, Relna was selected in the Under 17 Queensland City Squad. After a week-long training camp, the team faced off against the Queensland Country Squad in Redcliffe. City won convincingly 40 to 6.

“I felt so good and really proud when I was selected for City,” Relna said. “Last year when I was younger and was less experienced I didn’t get in the team. That was upsetting. I knew this year was the year to move up to a higher level to play.”

This selection comes off the back of her performance in the Queensland School Girls Rugby League Team earlier this year. The team played in the curtain raiser to the men’s State of Origin decider at Lang Park. Representative opportunities like these are important for young athletes as they provide a pathway to future Queensland teams and the National Rugby League.

“It was a really big achievement for me and made me realise I have come a long way with rugby,” Relna said.

A boarder at IGGS, Relna started playing rugby for her local club, Mulga Junior League, five years ago. The team is part of the KRL in the Torres Straits where Relna is from. She works to balance her busy training and representative schedule with the demands of her Year 11 academic load.

“Boarding has a great support system for me when I leave for rugby tournaments,” Relna said. “It can be hard sometimes to make all my training sessions and games when I have assignments and school work to do. I usually just squeeze everything in to get my work done before rugby!”

“It is a lot of hard work to be playing at a higher level, which means putting one hundred per cent into any rugby game I get to play. You never know if there will be scouts coming around or other clubs or rep teams recruiting girls.”

Looking ahead, Relna is excited to see how far her rugby journey can take her.

“I want to be able to represent my family, putting my island home on the map and show everyone how much talent girls have. I want everyone to know that once upon a time I was just a little girl, that attended IGGS and managed to pursue her rugby dreams.”

Relna hopes to continue her rugby journey professionally, and be recruited to the Brisbane Broncos or Gold Coast Titans.