Jess Skinner's Journey to the Top: Leading the Jillaroos to World Cup Glory

Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner is preparing for her first World Cup as head coach of Australia's national women's rugby league team, with the tournament set to be co-hosted across Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea next month.

Skinner, a proud Barkindji and Māori woman, is aiming to lead the team to a fourth title in a row, but for her, the tournament is about more than just winning.

A Coach with a Difference

"I feel like I'm lifting my people, Australians, my community in Trangie (regional NSW), my family," she says.

Skinner is known for her unique coaching style, which prioritizes putting the person before the player.

"I want to be known as a coach, who, when people leave my environments, they feel valued, seen and cared for," she says.

From the Bush to the World Cup

Skinner hails from Trangie, a town of about 1,000 people in the central west of New South Wales.

She began her coaching career as a school teacher, falling into coaching women's football at the grassroots level.

"It started out with wanting to be involved in my community, and [have] a sense of belonging," she says.

Skinner's elite coaching career began in 2019 as assistant coach of the Prime Minister's XIII, leading to other coaching roles with the Newcastle Knights NRLW side, the NRL Indigenous Women's Academy, the Women's Indigenous All Stars, and First Nations Gems.

A Challenging Road to the Top

Skinner admits that the journey to becoming head coach has not been easy, with challenges including a lack of women coaching at the elite level and time away from her children.

"You have to have resilience, grit and thick skin through this journey," she says.

Skinner also had to navigate a period of grief, having lost her mother just days before being appointed head coach.

"It hasn't been the easiest ride," she says.

Women Coaches Bring Unique Skills

Skinner believes that her intuition and genuine care for her players are her superpowers as a coach.

"I've got this human radar to recognise when our women are not themselves and I can action it to get the support they need," she says.

Skinner will be the only female head coach at the upcoming World Cup and is one of three women coaching rugby league internationally.

"We talk about women elevating women, but we actually have a lot of great men that are elevating woman and investing in us," she says.

A successful World Cup campaign would result in more full-time female staff within elite rugby league, particularly NRLW, according to Skinner.

"I'd loved to be able to see post World Cup, more female head coaches, head of performance, full-time within the game," she says.