Kamilaroi woman Mahalia Murphy says she was always active from a young age growing up in Sydney’s west, but says her training regime between then and now, when she is about to head to Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games, has changed a fair bit.
“I grew up doing athletics and then merged into league and then merged into Sevens so I guess league and Sevens is quite similar but the intensity in Sevens is a lot more different,” she told NITV News.
Mahalia’s family hail from the small town of Walgett in regional NSW but it was in Sydney’s west she first cut her teeth with the ball.
“I started with a Penrith local team and played a bit of under 15s, played a couple of tournaments and got selected for the NSW women’s,” she says.
Within a few years Mahalia had advanced through the ranks till she hit the big time.
“From there I guess I gained selection into higher squads and played a bit of league at one stage and got scouted for the Jillaroos team and from there I got scouted in the Sevens Australian women’s team,” she says.
But Now Mahalia is facing both the biggest moment in her sporting career to date, and her biggest test; she is representing Australia at the Rio Olympics with the Sevens women’s team.
“Yeah definitely, the Olympics is an ultimate goal for any sport and being able to represent Australia alone is a massive achievement and I guess being a part of the squad going for the first time to the Olympics and I guess great exposure for women’s sports,” she says.
“I think that anyone who plays for Australia would feel like they are a great ambassador, a great role model for anyone that looks up to anyone in sport.”
