Australian rugby sevens star Maddison Levi admits an NRLW cameo with sister Teagan would have been “selfish” after re-signing with Rugby Australia on a two-year deal.
Spurned by a heartbreaking Olympic campaign in Paris, the Levi sisters have given themselves another shot at gold medal glory and will remain with Australia’s rugby sevens program until at least the end of 2028.
The pair were expected to announce a one-off NRLW cameo this year, with various media outlets reporting RA had ticked off negotiations with a rugby league club.
It is not the first time Maddison, 23, and Teagan, 22, have expressed interest in a cross-code move, with Rugby Australia knocking back a request at the end of 2024.
The older Levi sister has also played AFLW, featuring in eight games for the Gold Coast Suns in 2021.
Maddison Levi is one of the best rugby sevens players in the world. (Getty Images: Hannah Peters)
Maddison, recognised as perhaps the world’s best women’s sevens player, said the decision factored in a short turnaround from the international sevens season ending on June 7 to the NRLW opening round from July 2.
“We’d be coming straight off a season into an NRLW season,” Maddison said on Tuesday.
“The toll our body takes under sevens, and to not have a pre-season underneath us and go out and play league, it’s probably a bit selfish on our part, not having played before.
“Teags, being a half or a playmaker, she can’t really play-make much if people don’t know how she plays.
“Being well-known sevens athletes, going over there, we want to go over and make our mark.
“And if we go over under-prepared — not that we can’t do that, I’m sure we could go out there and show how we play in sevens — but we wanted to fully be able to transition and show the NRLW how we play.”
The Levi sisters are keen to make amends for a disappointing campaign at the Paris Olympics two years ago. (Getty Images: Cameron Spencer)
The pain of a disastrous Olympic campaign in 2024 still lingers for the sisters, with Australia forced to leave Paris without a medal after two mighty upsets relegated them to a fourth-place finish.
Left rattled, the lure of an Olympic gold medal and redemption was strong enough for the sisters to turn down a lucrative deal from an NRLW club.
“Money, it’s nice, but it’s not the be-all and end-all,” Maddison said.
“We both play for the love of the game and ultimately, that’s kind of why we turned it down.
“Paris left us all a bit rattled. We were in the best position to get that Olympic gold medal.
“You look back and the time in the village is good, and then you think of the games.
“It’s such a conflicting memory, but it’s something that’s going to drive us to be hungrier come LA.
“They say you can’t win one without losing one — we’ve lost enough now to have a gold medal in LA.”
But the door to a cross-code move is not completely shut, with Australia set to host the 2029 Women’s World Cup.
“A hundred per cent, to be a dual athlete would be such a surreal experience. It’s definitely not off the cards,” Teagan said.
“I went and played at the (Super Rugby team Queensland) Reds for a little bit, and that was a great experience in itself.
“Again, the timing didn’t really work out with the seasons, but that door’s definitely not shut either.”
AAP
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