Georgia Grey achieves plenty when she’s thrown in the deep end.
She helped the Bull Sharks win the Australian Rugby Club Championships in her first ever game of 15’s.
Then she put her name in the ring for NRLW.
Although Grey had never played a single game of rugby league, the Gold Coast Titans seized upon her potential and named as a training squad member.
After impressing Titans coaches with her training ethic, she was bumped up into the ‘top 24’ playing squad.
Then, with only a couple of pre-season trial runs under her belt, she was called up for her NRLW debut.
In front of a sell-out crowd, she played a full 70 minutes on the wing and helped her Titans teammates to a 28-12 victory.
“It was a pretty surreal experience, especially being in front of a home crowd and run out there with the girls in front of my family and the fans,” Grey said.
“It’s an experience that I will treasure forever because you only debut once and it’s all pretty exciting that it was only my third ever game of league. I had the best time out there.”
Georgia’s dad, Nathan, was a Wallaby great, but the family have happily made the code switch. They flew in from Sydney to cheer on their girl.
“I was very lucky to have had my whole family fly up from Sydney for the game,” Grey said.
“My mum came the day before and presented me with my jersey, which was pretty special.
“I had my cousins and uncle come down from Brisbane and some of my Bond Uni friends got around it as well.
“It was really nice to have family and friends there to support me in such a special moment.”
Having switched codes and positions more times that we can count, Grey seems to have found her place in her other blue and yellow family as a winger.
“The wing is a fun position but it’s also tough,” Grey said.
“You have got to really work hard with your centres, a high level of communication is key.
“It’s different to 7s and union. You have to really stay square and trust your inside teammates.
“You work off the back of your teammates, and hopefully score the tries and finish off the work.”
The Bond University Bachelor of Sport Management student and Sport Leadership Scholar has risen to the challenge of the learning curve that accompanies a code-switch.
“I worked really hard during the pre-season to learn the game and just try to understand the concepts,” Grey said.
“The defensive structure and shape, especially the attack itself are so different to what I am used to.
“I asked some dumb questions and some good questions. I was asking teammates, coaches and everyone was really helpful with all the learning I had to do.”
According to Gold Coast Titans Captain, Georgia Hale, Grey’s work ethic and thirst for knowledge has made a mark.
“We feel like we have known GG for longer than we have, and for a 19-year-old girl- she has a great head on her shoulders,” Hale said.
“It was a fitting time for her to debut at a home game and have her family here, it was a special occasion.
“We are excited for her, she had great touches of the footy, she did wonders, so I am excited for her future ahead.”