She's only 18, still in high school and was recently added to the Sharks Elite Academy where she will train and learn the finer skills of the game alongside the club's best young male players, however capping off an exciting month Sharks star Quincy Dodd has been selected in the NSW Blues squad for the 2018 Women's State of Origin match.
Dodd was today listed as player number 18 in the NSW side that will face Queensland at North Sydney Oval on June 22. She will line up alongside her Cronulla-Caringbah teammates Corban McGregor, Talesha Quinn and Nita Maynard.
After a sensational season in the Sharks' premiership-winning Tarsha Gale Cup side – of which she was the captain and leading point-scorer – Dodd rocketed into Origin calculations with a fantastic debut performance for City NSW at the weekend-long National Women's Championships two weeks ago.
Although she was the youngest player in the team, Dodd more than proved she was up to the task of competing against the very finest. She is again the most youthful member of the NSW squad.
Naturally a halfback, Dodd was shifted onto the wing for City NSW and showed great versatility, crossing for a hat-trick of tries in her side's Day Two win over Queensland Country. That ability to fill in anywhere in the backline may have been the selling point for her Origin inclusion.
Dodd was also last week named as one of the first women included in the prestigious Sharks Elite Academy training program, reserved for the club's very best junior players.
Dodd was off playing soccer for Cronulla High School this afternoon and only learned about her selection in the Origin side when she found her phone buzzing with notifications after the match.
"I went onto my phone and found out the team list was up. I'm so shocked about it but so happy, so stoked," she said.
"I'm not nervous, I'm more excited. They're such a great group of girls so I'm pretty excited to be with all of them and I'm keen to wear the blue jersey."
Dodd isn't fazed by her inexperience or diminutive stature, saying she's confident of handling herself well in the Origin cauldron.
"I don't think a number really matters or size really matters ... hopefully (I can) execute everything I've learned through Tarsha Gale and my Cronulla-Caringbah team. (I'll) play and train as hard as I can."
While Dodd has quickly established a reputation as a player to watch, the she said she can't quite believe that she's now playing with and against some of her idols.
"I was pretty overwhelmed (at the National Championships) with all of the big names. I was pretty happy to play alongside them and even versing them as well," Dodd said.
"They are pretty big, strong players and hopefully one day I can be one of those big names."
Dodd will once again be mixing with the cream of the crop in just under a fortnight – this time on the big stage.
Following her Origin selection, the quiet Cronulla junior has checked off one item on her lofty rugby league bucket list.
"My ultimate goal is to make the Jillaroos probably, the highest you can make, and if not that then play in the City squad again," she said.
With time and talent firmly on Dodd's side, one would think it's inevitable that she will reach those heights sooner rather than later and perform admirably for NSW.
NSW Women's State of Origin Team
1 Sam Bremner - Helensburgh Tigers
2 Taleena Simon - South Sydney Rabbitohs
3 Corban McGregor - Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks
4 Isabelle Kelly - CRL Newcastle
5 Nakia Davis-Welsh - South Sydney Rabbitohs
6 Lavina O'Mealey - South Sydney Rabbitohs
7 Maddison Studdon (C) - South Sydney Rabbitohs
8 Elianna Walton (VC) - Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
9 Rebecca Riley - South Sydney Rabbitohs
10 Simaima Taufa - Mounties
11 Talesha Quinn - Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks
12 Kezie Apps - Helensburgh Tigers
13 Vanessa Foliaki - Brisbane Easts
14 Nita Maynard - Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks
15 Rebecca Young - CRL Newcastle
16 Holli Wheeler - CRL Newcastle
17 Hannah Southwell - CRL Newcastle
18 Quincy Dodd - Cronulla-Caringbah Sharks
