'I hated footy': How Jasmin learned to love the game

“I actually hated footy growing up”.

That’s not something you would expect to hear from Sydney Roosters back Jasmin Strange.

Strange, 22, and 20-year-old brother Ethan, who has enjoyed a break-out season with the Raiders, came through the Roosters pathways to play at the top level, while their father, John, is a premiership winning NRLW coach.

Yet growing up in a rugby league-mad household wasn’t always ideal for Jasmin.

“If Dad and Ethan had it on in the lounge room I would walk out of the lounge room. I just did not like it,” Strange told pan66.com.

“Women’s footy wasn’t really a thing when I was growing up - like it wasn’t anything, which is crazy because I’m only 22 now and it wasn’t a thing until I was 15.

“I was always athletic and I just did athletics until I was 14, I played a game of AFL and got into that for a year. Then I transitioned into rugby league through a 9’s tournament.

“My love of the game kind of grew from there because I was pretty good at it. I enjoyed it.”

The father-daughter duo is a first in the NRLW and the pair are hoping to win a premiership together after achieving the feat separately in recent seasons. 

Jasmin was handed her NRLW debut by John in 2022 before moving last season to the Knights, where she was a member of the club’s 2023 grand final winning team.

John, a former player with Featherstone, York and Sheffield, guided the Roosters to a maiden NRLW premiership in the deferred 2021 season.

After a season in Newcastle, Jasmin returned home and has re-united with her father at the Roosters.

“He’s really good at separating being a dad and being a coach,” Jasmin said.

“When we are at home, he’s not in coach mode but definitely when he is in coach mode, he has such high expectations for me, and he knows what I can do.”

Strange almost produced the perfect Father’s Day present in last Sunday night’s victory over the Raiders, but a try saving tackle from Raider’s fullback Apii Nicholls knocked the ball loose in the in-goal.

“I’m really just happy actually for him that we got the win. I think it was pretty disappointing last week [26-6 loss to the Titans] so yeah, we have really stepped it up this week,” Jasmin said.

After spending time during pre-season training in the back row, Strange has moved to the centres following a high grade MCL injury sustained by NSW and Jillaroos star Jess Sergis.

“I feel like I know what I can do and I feel excited to actually do it for my team," Strange said.

"In previous years I’ve just been trying to get by and just do my role, whereas this year I know my team needs a bit extra with Jess going down. I feel proud that I’m really stepping up into that."

Still sitting on the sidelines in a knee brace, Sergis is hopeful of returning for the tri-colours this season and is having PRP injections to help the healing process.

For the moment, however, the Roosters medical team are taking it week to week.

“Jas has been doing really well. Lucky enough she’s been thrown into a few positions, and I guess that’s just how great she can be," Sergis said.

"Where we need her, she will play. I’m just trying to put a bit more confidence into her. She is a great player, she runs hard, she tackles even harder, so I think the better we play as a squad the better I think she will play.

"She does a great job on that right edge. As I said she is a very tough competitor, so we definitely need her out there for her aggression."

With three wins and three losses, the Roosters face their biggest test of the season so far when they travel to Cronulla on Saturday to take on the table topping, undefeated Sharks.

Led by captain Tiana Penitani, the Sharks have proven a hard team to take down, but Sergis believes the Roosters can end the Sharks unbeaten start to the season.

“I think we are very similar to the Sharks in the way that we play and the girls we have on our teams," she said.

"We aren’t the biggest pack and I don’t think they are the biggest pack, but they do have a lot of heart and I know we do too. It’s going to be a great match."