NRLW hooker Ebony Prior shares her journey from touch football and Oztag beginnings to competing at the elite level of women’s rugby league. After progressing through the Penrith and Wests Tigers pathways and making her NRLW debut for the club she grew up supporting, Ebony has since signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for the 2025–2026 seasons. In this interview, she offers practical insights into skill development, handling setbacks, building team culture, and the importance of backing yourself both on and off the field.

You attended the Hills Sport High School, what was that application process like and who encourage you to take that path for schooling?

I made the Sydney West touch football side when I was in Year 6 and they had Hills Sports girls from their touch program there refereeing on the day, and their teachers were there too.  So, when they picked the Sydney West team, they gave everyone a pamphlet for the school. I was planning on going to my local high school, but I thought it was a great opportunity. So, I applied, and then you get accepted to a trial, you go to the trial, and they come back to you. It’s an easy process, honestly, and it’s so worth it.

How would you describe your pathway into NRLW?

I give a lot of credit to touch and Oztag for getting me to where I am now. I started at club footy, then I played at St Marys because they needed numbers, and from there I trialled for Penrith’s Tarsha Gale team and played a season with them. The following year Penrith didn’t put in a Tarsha Gale side, so we played at the Wests Tigers, and that’s where I continued to move up through the grades.

From there, it was a gradual climb. If you perform well and get offered a Harvey Norman contract, you keep progressing through the system. One thing I really liked is that people from the top were involved all the way through the ranks. If a club really likes you, they’ll make sure you stay involved and try to keep you there. The Tigers did a great job of that at the time building a strong squad, winning the Harvey Norman competition in 2022, and then locking a lot of us in for NRLW so it felt like a very hands-on process.

Growing up you were a West Tiger’s supporter; can you talk to us about what your feelings were when you found out you were being signed with them? And how did you handle your nerves for your debut game with them?

When I was growing it didn’t even seem like a possibility, it was always “My brothers going to play for the Tigers”, or “My Brother is going to play NRL.” So it was a full-circle moment I didn’t think I’d get to that point, or that footy would be at that point while I was playing. It was just so surreal. When we signed, they had Apisai Koroisau come down to do a session and he was doing passing with me. The team did a lot to show us we weren’t just a “girls’ team” that we were part of the bigger team.

Then on game day, there’s always nerves, but I felt okay until I ran out onto the field, and I had a little gag which I never do. I think my debut game is probably my favourite game so far for the NRLW. It was unreal, and to play for that club for two years is probably one of the highlights of my career so far. It was like a childhood dream.

What’s your advice on hearing constructive feedback from coaches, especially those big mentors you mentioned?

I think you can’t take it to heart because they’re just trying to make you a better player. Once you take on feedback and you improve you can see where they are coming from so you can’t get offended in the moment.

People take it to heart and get upset in the moment but at the end of the day it’s going to make you a better player and if you want to be the best you have to take it on board. When I was younger, I would question it but once I’d watch my performance back, I’d see what my coach was saying.

You had a minor calf injury in 2024. And for many athletes, even short setbacks can be quite mentally tough. How did you stay positive and keep your focus during this recovery period?

It was a hard time, but you have to stay on top of your rehab. Although setbacks can happen, and you might be out for longer than expected you have to keep up with your rehab. Everyone’s body is different so you could come back earlier but you also don’t have to push it and have to come back. So, I was just constantly on top of my physio, but I know a lot of athletes struggle because it can seem like physio isn’t fixing it straight away. You might not be able to see it but it’s doing something. It hurts sitting on the side watching your team but at the end of the day it’s not forever. It’s only a period of time. You’re going to be back only if you want it though. If you’re not going to try to come back, you’re not going to be back.

Your passing game is one of your standout skills. Can you share how you’ve developed your passing from dummy half, and what drills you’d recommend to young players to improve this skill?

I developed my passing in Oztag. I used to be able to pass really well from right to left, and then you get to that stage where you see everyone else spinning the ball. So, I started doing the drill where you have the ball in one hand, and you spin it straight ahead to a person in front of you.

Once I was good at that, I worked on getting my hand to it and just practiced but I only practiced on one side. It started to annoy me that I was horrible passing the other way, so I had to start doing it on the other side. It took a little bit longer.

Most people can’t pass left to right, but you’ve just got to keep practicing that’s what I did. All I would do is practice, practice, practice. That’s why I can throw effortlessly and far now. That’s why I focus a lot on passing when I’m coaching, there’s no point playing if you can’t pass. It’s a team sport. You need to be able to share the load and you can’t do that without passing.

Touch and Oztag are a good pathway before full contact footy. It’s like a step-by-step thing so you don’t have to worry about 100 things at once. You can worry about passing and catching there, and once you’re fine with that you can go into footy and then worry about contact.

If anyone wants to get better at passing, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you have to do 100 passes a day, do 100 passes a day. There’s no secret, no trick. It’s reps on reps on reps.

What would you say are the most important attributes a young hooker should work on to succeed at NRLW level?

Tackling is the key skill, generally a dummy-half is smaller than the rest of team, so you need to be able to tackle the bigger bodies. So even if you’re not a part of the initial tackle but your team is struggling to get a girl to go down you need to be able to get in to help them. You also need to be one of the fittest on the team and have crisp passing that hits the target. Reading the game to take those runs is also important so you have to back yourself.

We’ve heard you say before that growth happens outside of your comfort zone. Can you tell us about a specific moment where you pushed yourself outside that comfort zone and what you learned?

Signing with the Bulldogs was outside of my comfort zone because the Tigers were all I had known and I loved playing for them and with those girls, but I feel like change needed to happen, I needed to progress in my career. I’ve gained so much playing for the Bulldogs, learning how different players play and working with different people.

Also, in 2022 when I was playing in Harvey Norman for the Tigers, I always started on the bench which I was totally grateful for it, I understand why I was used for impact. But then it came to finals time, and they started me. I was like, “Oh my God, I’m starting, this is so weird,” because I usually come in when the game was already flowing. I had to deal with forwards that weren’t tired, which every dummy-half will face eventually, but I wasn’t used to that. I was playing bigger minutes, so I had to fight with my body to keep going when I wasn’t used to it. But that’s when you play your best when you’re outside your comfort zone.

You signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs for the 2025/2026 seasons and have been a part of their inaugural squad – talk to us about team culture and how you’ve contributed to the formation of this in the foundational years of the club’s NRLW team?

I’ve absolutely loved being part of the Bulldogs’ inaugural NRLW squad, especially from a culture point of view. What we’ve built so far is incredible. Everyone is mates, everyone holds each other accountable, and there’s a genuine care for one another. We’ve also got a really special connection with our staff. We all love Brayden as our coach, and we all really value the wider staff as well. For me, it’s not something I’ve always been used to with having everyone so close, but it’s been such a good thing. That closeness off the field definitely shows up on the field. There are moments in games where you catch yourself thinking, “How the hell did that just happen?” and it’s because we’re so connected away from the game things just flow naturally during it.

Even though people have only just started to see us as a team, I feel like we’re only at the beginning. No one’s fully made their mind up about us yet, and we’ve got so much to prove. I honestly think next year is going to be a whole new level, and it’s going to be insane.

And now that you’re mentoring younger players yourself, what’s the main message you try to leave them with when you’re coaching?

I always tell them to back themselves. You can’t doubt yourself because as soon as you do, it’s not going to go your way. You can’t rely on someone else to tell you whether you played bad or well it’s on you. But I also tell them not to put too much pressure on themselves.

I’ve seen pushy parents and watched kids crumble under that. If they underperform, they crumble even harder. They have to want it and if they don’t want to be there it’s fine it’s not the be-all and end-all. I say it like a hundred times a session: “It’s okay. Back yourself.” If they did something wrong and they can tell me straight away, “Oh, I did this wrong,” that’s perfect. I don’t need to say anything if you can pick it up.

Keen for more? You might love this post about Jakiya Whitfield on goal setting and self belief or Demi Hayes on her journey to Rugby 7s