Stephanie Hancock (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays for the Gold Coast Titans Women in the

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for women's rugby league in Australia, female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the ...

. Primarily a , she is a

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and Australia representative, winning two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in 2013 and 2017. She previously played for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

, winning two premierships in 2018 and 2019.

Background

Born in

Killarney, Queensland Killarney is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It borders New South Wales. In the , the locality of Killarney had a population of 954 people. Geography Killarney is located south-east of Warwick ...

, Hancock played her junior rugby league for the Eastern Suburbs Hornets in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and W ...

. Her father, Rohan, is a former

and

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

representative. They are the first ever father-daughter pair to represent Queensland and Australia.

Playing career

In 2003, Hancock made her Test debut for Australia at the

2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup The 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the second staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand from 28 September, culminating in the final between New Zealand and New Zealand Maori on 12 Oc ...

. In 2004, she made her debut for

in their win over New South Wales at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

. Hancock became a regular for both Australia and Queensland over the next 15 years, playing in nine straight wins for Queensland. In 2008, she played in her second

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, with Australia losing 0–34 to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in the final. On 14 July 2013, Hancock was a member of the Australian side that defeated New Zealand 22–12 in the World Cup final at

Headingley Rugby Stadium Headingley Rugby Stadium shares the same site as Headingley Cricket Ground and is home to Leeds Rhinos. Headingley is the 5th largest rugby league stadium in England. History 1889-1980s: Construction and development Leeds St Johns, who ...

. On 7 November 2014, she was named captain of Australia, a position she held until 2017, replacing the retiring Karyn Murphy. On 2 December 2017, she started at for Australia in their 23–16 World Cup final win over New Zealand at

2018

In June, Hancock represented Queensland Country at the inaugural Women's National Championships. On 21 June, she signed with the

team. In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, Hancock made her debut in the Broncos' 30–4 win over the

St George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...

. On 30 September, she came off the bench in the Broncos' 34–12

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

win over the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

2019

In May, she represented Queensland Country at the Women's National Championships. On 6 October, she came off the bench in the Broncos' 30–6

win over the Dragons.

2020

On 24 September, Hancock joined the

for the

2020 NRL Women's season The 2020 NRL Women's Premiership was the third season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Regular season The season operated under a round-robin format, with games played as curtain-raisers to the 2020 N ...

. On 13 November, Hancock scored a try in Queensland's 24–18

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco O ...

win over New South Wales. She retired from representative rugby league following the match, her 16th for Queensland.

Achievements and accolades

Individual

* QRL Representative Player of the Year: 2013, 2018

Team

* 2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup: Australia – Winners *

2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup The 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the fifth staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup and was held in Australia between 16 November and 2 December 2017. Pool and semi-final matches was held at Southern Cross Group Stadium in Sydne ...

: Australia – Winners * 2018 NRLW Grand Final: Brisbane Broncos – Winners * 2019 NRLW Grand Final: Brisbane Broncos – Winners

References

External links

St George Illawarra Dragons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Steph 1982 births Living people Australian female rugby league players Australia women's national rugby league team players Brisbane Broncos (NRLW) players Gold Coast Titans (NRLW) players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin Women players Rugby league props Rugby league players from Queensland Sportswomen from Queensland People from the Darling Downs St. George Illawarra Dragons (NRLW) players