Isabelle Kelly Injury Update
The Roosters' unbeaten NRLW streak came at a devastating cost Saturday night when captain Isabelle Kelly suffered what medical staff believe is a broken jaw during their 30-0 victory over North Queensland in Townsville. It happened in such an innocuous way, too — just an accidental elbow from Fran Goldthorp while Kelly was attempting a tackle, the kind of contact that happens dozens of times every match without incident, but this time the angle was all wrong and down she went. NRL PHYSIO shared on Twitter that Isabelle Kelly was taken to the hospital with a suspected broken jaw after an accidental elbow to the face during her milestone game:
Alan Katzmann posted on Twitter that Isabelle Kelly suffered a serious facial injury in her milestone match, with a badly broken jaw that required her to be taken to the hospital.
What really got me was hearing Johnathan Thurston's commentary about how she tried to tough it out, walking up the tunnel before collapsing from the pain — that's Kelly for you, always trying to push through, but there's no pushing through a broken jaw. The ambulance taking her straight to the hospital really drove home how serious this is, and honestly, watching the Roosters celebrate their ninth straight win felt hollow knowing their captain and Dally M points leader was in that much pain.
The timing couldn't be worse with just two rounds left before finals, and if scans confirm what everyone fears, the Roosters will have to navigate the business end of the season without their NSW Origin skipper, who's been absolutely instrumental in their dominance this year. You know what's crazy, though? The Roosters still put four tries on in the second half after Kelly left, with Jess Sergis bagging a double, showing they've got depth, but losing your captain and best player right before finals is the stuff of nightmares for coach John Strange.
The Raiders are up next for the Roosters, and Canberra just knocked off the Tigers in golden point so they're coming in hot — exactly the kind of test you don't want when you're missing your leader. I keep thinking about how Kelly's been carrying this team all season, leading the Dally M count, steering them through tough moments, and now they'll have to find that leadership elsewhere if she's ruled out. The official word from the Roosters is still pending those scan results, but when you see a player collapse from pain and need an ambulance, you don't need to be a doctor to know it's serious.
What makes this even more gut-wrenching is that Kelly's been in career-best form, the kind of season where everything clicks and you're watching a player at the absolute peak of their powers, only for it to potentially end with an accidental elbow in round eight.
The Roosters are still heavy favorites for the premiership even without Kelly — they've got too much talent across the park not to be — but championships are won on big moments and big plays from big players, and there's no bigger player in the women's game right now than Isabelle Kelly.
We'll know more once those scan results come through, probably Monday or Tuesday, but right now Roosters fans are holding their breath and hoping against hope that initial diagnosis was wrong, though when medical staff on the ground make that call and bring in an ambulance, they're usually pretty spot on with their assessment.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.
