She's hard running and hard hitting, has played close to every position on the field, bar getting lifted in the lineout, and on Sunday morning Australia time Ash Marsters is set to become the equal most capped Wallaroo ever. But in the same breath, her Super Rugby Women's team, the Melbourne Rebels, no longer exists.
On Wednesday afternoon it was finally announced the Rebels would no longer take part in the SuperW competition, months after it was determined the men's side would be folded. It's a massive blow for the game and hugely disappointing for every player that has pulled on the blue, red and white jersey over the last seven seasons. But more importantly, it essentially means the end of the rugby careers for many of the current players.
While the Wallaroos flanker will easily be picked up by any of the remaining SuperW clubs -- or simply take up a contract overseas -- and a select few of her teammates may make the move cross country to find some playing time, for many more that simply won't be the case.
Spots on SuperW playing lists are few and far between, while the simple cost of quitting your job and moving interstate is a price many of these players simply can't afford. Remember, the players outside the Wallaroos squad are still semi-professional and earning minimal payments meaning they still need a fulltime job to supplement their wages. Did someone say cost of living crisis?
It's not surprising this decision was made, Rugby Australia simply can't afford to prop up the women's side in Melbourne, but there's no doubt the disastrous consequences this will have on the growth of the game in Victoria.
According to a Victoria Rugby statement on Thursday, the 2024 season saw their highest number of registered girls and women players and they successfully attended representative tournaments in under-13s, under-15s and under-18s. Meanwhile, it was the most successful season ever for the Rebels and we mustn't forget the club was the first to introduce player payments in 2022 with the other clubs following suit.
There's no doubt the Rebels' participation in SuperW was the catalyst for the game's growth in the state and without it the player pathway in Victoria has essentially been blown up with any talent left for either the AFLW or the eventual NRLW Melbourne Storm to pick up. Although RA have made promises to build a pathway for players in Victoria, it's hard to envision how this will happen.
It's not just players in the southern state that will feel the ramifications of this decision either, with the national competition now reduced to just five teams and an expanded home-and-away season unlikely to eventuate.
It's the exact opposite of what the sport and the national women's team need ahead of next year's World Cup. Already the Wallaroos have discovered how wide the gap has become between the top four teams in the world and the rest after they lost all three Pac4 matches in May and were soundly beaten by Ireland three weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Marsters, a proud Victorian, will now doubt go down in Australian rugby history as one of the best Wallaroos players to play the game with her ability to pack down in the forward pack, line-up at flanker or run the hard lines in centres, and she's the perfect example of why RA must have a continued presence in Victoria or risk losing the next Ash Marsters.