Millie Elliott's incoming baby may stop her from playing, but not the Origin feeling
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRLW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Thursday night will have a similar feel for Millie Elliott despite playing a very different role.
She will still do up her boots, have a mean look towards any Queenslander, even take the field wearing a bit of blue.
But her pregnancy means the NSW enforcer will be carrying a microphone up the field instead of the classic Steeden.
The front-rower missed her first Origin clash since 2019 last Thursday, and a very large part of her desperately wants to scratch that itch and represent her state.
But she also knows having the year off to give birth to her first child is just as important.
Millie Elliott (formerly Millie Boyle) would be playing in Wednesday's State of Origin match if she wasn't 5 months pregnant. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Millie Elliott played for the NSW Women's Origin team for 2019-2024. Picture: Tim Hunter.
'If this was retiring me, it would be a little different,' Elliott said.
'I'm going back to footy, and there are so many mums that have done the same thing, come back and play their best.'
Elliott is just one of many NRLW stars who are currently pregnant, missing both State of Origin and the 2025 season.
And upon reflection, she admits there is no right time for the female players to have children.
'I feel like it's never the right time no matter what you're doing, especially in rugby league,' Elliott said.
'You want to try and do it so it's not in the middle of the season.
'But my husband (Adam) is also a player, so trying to find the right balance that works for both of us is how we try and manage it.'
Millie Elliott (formerly Millie Boyle) would be playing in Wednesday's State of Origin match if she wasn't 5 months pregnant. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
Taking the field as a commentator for Nine's coverage of the State of Origin, Elliott has used her time away from the field to transition into a media personality.
Not only working on various rugby league programs across Nine, Elliott also hosts the Say Less podcast with Roosters teammates Keeley Davis and Olive Kernick.
Never having the ambition to head into the media while playing, the 26-year-old is trying to keep as busy as possible, before her child is expected in September.
Millie Elliott playing for the Jillaroos.
'I don't like being bored, I always like being busy,' she said.
'I love being productive and around people, so whether that's on the footy field or in another work environment, it's something I enjoy doing.
'There is going to be plenty of downtime when the baby comes.'
The one person excited for the downtime and the arrival of the newborn is her partner, Knights lock Adam.
Adam Elliott and Millie Elliott at the beach over Christmas 2 months ago.
Adam and Millie Elliot married in October last year. Picture: Instagram
With Millie on the road more often than not for her new media gig, husband Adam has been left to hold down the fort alone in Newcastle.
Many will remember the scenes of Adam watching Millie win her inaugural NRLW premiership with Newcastle, and despite her not playing at the moment, the 30-year-old still watches on proud of her new journey.
'He loves it,' Millie said.
'My success is his success and he is always proud of me and pushes me to do whatever I want to do.
'He is on his own often but we know it's for a bigger reason than right now.'
Originally published as Millie Elliott's incoming baby may stop her from playing, but not the Origin feeling
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
25 minutes ago
- ABC News
Wallabies coach full of praise for Jake Gordon ahead of British and Irish Lions tour
Joe Schmidt has detailed why Jake Gordon is Wallabies captaincy material, while conceding individual form will trump team performances when selectors sit down to pick a squad to topple the touring British and Irish Lions. Gordon's emergence as a frontrunner to lead the Wallabies in the showpiece three-Test series against the Lions has raised eyebrows due to the NSW skipper missing several games during his team's failure to make the Super Rugby Pacific finals for a second straight season. ABC Sport will have live blog coverage of the British and Irish Lions' tour of Australia this July and August. But coach Schmidt was glowing in his praise when asked about the halfback's captaincy credentials. "Jake, he's one of the leaders in the group," Schmidt told reporters during a visit to the Western Force's training hub in Perth. "So is Nic White, so there's a few halfbacks … and Tate McDermott has been a former [Wallabies] captain, so of the nines we had last year, they're all leaders within the group. "Jake is a really good skill set, mature player, [has a] very nice kicking game, one of the sharper passers around, and he is utterly committed when he's on the grass. "His ability to cover corners and make tackles, be involved in the physical stuff, he's a multi-purpose sort of player. "But the sharp edge of his game is really his pass-kick … [They] were very helpful to us last year." Schmidt will name a squad of up to 40 players before the Wallabies' first Test of the year against Fiji in Newcastle on July 6. But the Kiwi mentor said his squad would not necessarily be dominated by the ACT Brumbies, Australia's last team standing in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. Schmidt promised he was looking at a raft of players from all four Australian franchises. "Results are fickle," he said of the topsy-turvy Super Rugby season. "The Wallabies will be judged on them, but there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, and there's a lot of moments in games that decide results. "An individual can stack up plenty of good moments in a game where they've performed really well, and sometimes the team doesn't get the results. "So we're probably anchored to results. We're anchored more around performance and individual performance in a team context, definitely. "You know that you've got to be connected with your teammates because that's one of the beauties of the game. It's so interdependent. "You're reliant on the guys up front doing the job so you can get the space out the back. A guy like Mac Grealy or Harry Potter or Dylan Pietsch, they can't do a lot in space if the boys up front aren't doing their job." The Force will be the first Australian side to tackle the Lions at Perth Stadium on June 28. AAP
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Utoikamanu moves to make Origin mark after 2023 tease
Stefano Utoikamanu spent two years feeling so teased by 12 minutes of State of Origin that it prompted the front-rower to uproot his life and move to Melbourne. The one fresh face in the NSW team for Origin II in Perth next week, Utoikamanu has every right to feel like he is making his debut again. The 25-year-old played his sole Origin two years ago, playing 12 minutes for the Blues in their game-two loss that surrendered the series at Suncorp Stadium in 2023. It was enough time for six touches of the football and seven tackles, but hardly enough for the prop to feel like he'd been able to make his mark in the Origin arena. "I've thought about that a lot," Utoikamanu said. "I didn't really get a real taste of getting in there. I played 12 minutes and it's pretty hard coming off the bench, you've got to make an impact. "If you don't make an impact there's not really any point you being out there. "I'm happy I get another opportunity to go in there and show them what I can actually do. That first time I felt like I didn't do what I needed to do." Utoikamanu said he had "chilled" as a footballer since his Origin debut, having also represented Samoa since. But he has also made no secret of his desire to get back in a Blues jersey. It was a big part of the front-rower's thinking when he moved to Melbourne from Wests Tigers at the end of last year. Utoikamanu says "it's hard to say" if he would be playing this week had he stayed at the Tigers, as one of only two men to feature in Origin while at the club since 2018. Regardless, the Auckland-born talent knows the Storm move has helped, where he is now playing under NSW coach Laurie Daley's new adviser Craig Bellamy. "Coming to the Melbourne Storm has helped me a fair bit in trying to get back into this arena," Utoikamanu said. "It was one of the things I looked at when I was going to leave the Wests Tigers. "I feel like the Melbourne Storm have such a good system, and being in it now I'm happy I made the move. "There's a system there that's made a lot of players get better. A lot of players go there and become better, there's a lot of teams you can't say that (about). "Melbourne's one of those teams that when you go there you have to do the hard work, but when you do the hard work you're going to become a better player."
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Stefano Utoikamanu vows to make biggest impact possible for NSW after being recalled for game II
It's impossible to say whether Stefano Utoikamanu would have played State of Origin this year if he'd stayed at the Wests Tigers, but what he does know is that the move to Melbourne made him a better player and gave him a chance to win back his spot in the Blues team. Utoikamanu was in the squad for the series opener but will come off the bench in game two in Perth next week after starting prop Mitch Barnett was ruled out for the rest of 2025 with a serious knee injury. The injury has opened the door for Utoikamanu to revive his Origin career after he was given a taste of it in 2023, with his failure to be reselected allowing him to activate a clause to leave the Tigers at the end of last year to move to the Storm. 'It's hard to say. The Tigers are going better now than we were last year, so I wouldn't know,' he replied when asked if he'd be in the team if he was still at the Tigers. 'It was one of the things I looked at when I was going to leave the Wests Tigers. I feel like the Melbourne Storm have such a good system, and being in it now, I'm happy I made the move and happy to be here. 'There's a system there that's made a lot of players become better. A lot of players go there and become better, and there are a lot of teams you can't say that (about). 'Melbourne's one of those teams that when you go there you have to do the hard work. But once you do the hard work, you're going to become a better player.' Utoikamanu has produced fairly similar stats at the Storm to what he was doing at the Tigers, with the front-rower seeing the game differently under coach Craig Bellamy, who ripped into him after a couple of costly penalties at Magic Round. Plenty of people feel that Tigers prop Terrell May deserves to be in the NSW side, and the numbers suggest it should be a matter of if and not when he gets the chance to put on the jersey. But May will have to watch on as the man he replaced at the Tigers gets a second crack at it two years after his 13-minute cameo off the bench where he struggled to make an impact as the Blues were blown out in Brisbane. Reece Walsh and Jarome Luai were sent off that night as Utoikamanu came on five minutes before halftime, had six runs and was then dropped for the dead rubber. 'I've thought about that a lot,' he said. 'I didn't really get a real taste of getting in there. I played 12 or 15 minutes and it's pretty hard coming off the bench because you've got to make an impact. If you don't make an impact then there's not really any point you being out there. 'Coming off the bench you should be fresh and looking to give your team a bit of energy, especially in Origin. That's a big role to have coming off the bench and that's something I'll be looking to do in this game. 'I'm happy I get another opportunity to go in there and show them what I can actually do. That first time I felt like I didn't do what I needed to do. We lost that game, so I'm happy I get to come back, be around this group and show everyone what I can do.'
