Dragons re-sign Albert

Sports

By PARKER TAMBUA
PAPUA New Guinea Orchids captain Elsie Albert has been re-signed by the St George Illawarra Dragons for the upcoming National Rugby League Women’s (NRLW) season which kicks off in October.
“When determining our squad for the upcoming campaign, we wanted to make sure we re-signed the right players from last season, those who wanted to don our jersey,” Dragons NRLW coach Matt Head said on the club’s website yesterday.
“To have Elsie from the start of pre-season unlike last year will only benefit her and the club.
“She’s a powerful player and an international who will be a huge asset to our club.”
The 25-year-old, from Southern Highlands, was yesterday named alongside Teagan Berry, Jaime Chapman and Talei Holmes as Dragons recruits for the 2021 season.
PNG Rugby Football League coaching director Michael Marum told The National that Albert deserved the call-up, given her 2020 form in the world’s premier women’s rugby league competition.
“Elsie’s statistics speak for themselves,” Marum said.
“She deserves to be re-signed.
“In only her first season in the NRLW, which was last year, she was up there among the best in a number of areas like offloads. She did extremely well.
“Apart from a few errors she made, she was an asset to the Dragons.
“I know she struggled to get her visa sorted and people were helping her.
“We also provided assistance to sort out those issues and it’s good to finally see her re-joining the Dragons.
“Definitely, she’ll be a boost for her club and she’ll only get better with more games at that level.”