ONLY a couple of years ago, Sarah Morley was living almost 700 kilometres west of Sydney.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Now she's living her dream in the big smoke.
Morley grew up in Cobar, roughly 300 kilometres west of Dubbo, one of the last major towns before Broken Hill.
But last year, she made the move to Bathurst, to be closer to Sydney, in order to try and make her dream of playing professional rugby league come true.
And she's taken her first steps, having made the St George Dragons' Tarsha Gale Cup squad for the 2024 season.
Three games in and results haven't been going her team's way - the Dragons have lost all three games, conceded 154 points and failed to have scored a single point - but that hasn't stopped her drive.
"It's been amazing. I love it so much," she said.
"Just being surrounded by more girls that want football just as much as I do, it's just so great.
"It's what I want to do and where I want to go. Being surrounded by people who love it as much as me is such a great environment to be in."
![Sarah Morley (right) next to Panorama Platypi teammate Zoe Lee, after a game between her St George Dragons and the Sydney Roosters' Indigenous Academy. Picture supplied Sarah Morley (right) next to Panorama Platypi teammate Zoe Lee, after a game between her St George Dragons and the Sydney Roosters' Indigenous Academy. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/33jmgggMux4cQ6bJ2r3hFg4/99f49653-3c86-4cad-ad3a-f6a2147a1224.jpg/r81_447_1315_1493_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The 17-year-old said the results haven't gotten to her or her teammates.
"A lot of the girls seem disappointed with the scores, but it's a learning experience. It's what happens in football," she said.
"The scores haven't been the best, but us as a team have been doing our best and putting in the work at training.
"We're trying to be better but the scores just don't reflect that."
From Cobar, to Bathurst, to Sydney
Having graduated from Cobar High School last year, she still lives and works in Bathurst, travelling down to train and play.
She said it's "amazing" to think where she's come from in such a short space of time.
"I wouldn't have thought that I'd be down even in Bathurst. Like I thought I'd still be in Cobar, trying to succeed from there," she said.
![Sarah Morley makes a run for the Panorama Platypi during last year's Western's Women's Rugby League under 18s. Picture by Bradley Jurd Sarah Morley makes a run for the Panorama Platypi during last year's Western's Women's Rugby League under 18s. Picture by Bradley Jurd](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/33jmgggMux4cQ6bJ2r3hFg4/815ceb60-4c76-4b11-aa96-d5d86d2703d5.jpg/r1666_340_4755_2468_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"The move from Bathurst has definitely helped a lot. Being able to play with the Bathurst girls [Panorama Platypi] at the end of last year gave me more confidence that this is what I want to do."
Training takes place at Harold Fraser Oval in Kogarah Bay, a stone's throw away from her home games at Jubilee Oval.
Her coach is Craig Faulkner, someone that has helped improve her game.
"He's been really good. He can interpret things in so many different ways," she said.
"If you don't get it, you can just go up and talk to him and he can explain it in another way, to make sure you can understand it."
She played for the Panorama Platypi in 2023, competing in the club's under 18s team.