Early Career Alumnus of the Year

After completing a Bachelor of Clinical Sciences (Osteopathic Studies) and a Master of Osteopathic Medicine at Southern Cross University and competing at the highest levels of rugby, Georgia is now working to help her injured patients return to the sports they love while also pursuing a PhD with a focus on reducing head injuries in women's rugby league.  

Her drive to make a difference was sparked at just 14 years old, after the sporty teen was diagnosed with scoliosis.  

“I remember Mum taking me to chiropractors and physios, but no one could really help with the pain,” says Georgia, who played tennis and competed in athletics during school. “But then we went to an osteopath, and they really helped me. Then, in Year 10, I did work experience at that same osteopath I’d been seeing. That’s when I knew I wanted to be one.”  

Georgia studied at Southern Cross University’s Lismore campus, where she started playing Oztag at 18 years old. One of the players she trained with suggested she give Rugby Sevens a go and, not long after, she was awarded a scholarship at Lindenwood University in Missouri, USA, where she excelled in their rugby union team.  

“This was the best time of my life,” Georgia says. “I really loved it over there, but it was also good to come home and pick my study back up. The course at Southern Cross University was so thorough and well developed, and the teachers were really great.”  

After university, Georgia moved to Sydney for a job at a multidisciplinary clinic and began playing rugby league in 2020. Over the next few years, while working full- and then part-time, she represented the St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership, and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NSWRL Women's Premiership. Her versatility and talent were also showcased in rugby union, where she played for the Melbourne Rebels in the Super W.  

In 2022 Georgia injured her ankle and, after surgery, retired from the sport. “I’d also had a few diagnosed concussions, which was really in the back of my mind, so I decided to stop playing and focus on my clinical work.”  

It’s this experience with the sport, as well as her various injuries, that has allowed her a powerful perspective and an empathetic understanding of what her patients are going through. Her commitment to her patients and her profession is clear in her work, where she applies the same level of dedication and discipline that she brought to her athletic career — giving her daily purpose.  

“I understand how scary pain is, but I also understand the process of rehab,” Georgia explains. “I know that if you go through the process, you can get back to having no pain. This first-hand knowledge has helped me so much as a practitioner, and I get so much purpose out of my job being able to help people every day. I get a lot of enjoyment out of seeing people going back to doing what they love.”  

Georgia is currently pursuing a PhD, focusing on strategies to reduce head injuries in women's rugby league.  

“When I started looking into it, I realised that there wasn’t much research into concussions in women in particular in rugby league,” she says. “Women and men are different in this area, for example having narrower shoulder complexes. So, I wanted to add more value to this.”  

Georgia’s research is focused on defining certain high-risk tackle characteristics that are likely to lead to a concussion and developing coaching cues that could help prevent this. She is also looking into the accuracy of mouthguards that measure head impacts during games. This work is vital in addressing one of the most pressing issues in contact sports today, and her perspective as both a player and a healthcare professional positions her to make significant contributions to the field.