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By Pak Chan and Zafeera Jahana | Image: Supplied/Awards Australia
Ever since she was in primary school, Kate had a passion for sports. Growing up in the rural town of Katherine, the young athlete took every opportunity she could.
“[Rugby] was a wild experience, especially being a female and playing a heavy contact sport, there’s a lot of inequality in it,” said Kate.
Some say ‘girls can’t play rugby’, but I love it.
Joining the local junior NRL team in 2020, Kate soon became the star of her team. But after three seasons, the unexpected happened on the field – a Grade 2 ACL tear that effectively ended her rugby career.
“Rugby was pretty much my life, and to have that taken away from me was pretty hard.”
But the story didn’t end there for the young girl with a heart filled with passion. After a long journey of recovery, Kate was back on the field as a referee.
Undeterred, the young athlete stood back up once again and participated in the Australian Olympic Change-Maker Summit in Canberra. In the same year, she was awarded the Junior Aspiring Referee of the Year by NRL NT.
Extending her leadership skills beyond sports, Kate is also part of the NT Youth Voice Peak Group and is the school captain of Katherine High School.
Dedicated to making rural voices heard, Kate is keen to look for solutions to keep young people engaged at school by giving young people the platform to voice out.
Situated over 300 kilometres away from Darwin, Kate said that rural towns are often forgotten in decision-making processes. Hoping to inspire more young girls to also do their best, Kate is calling for more opportunities for the bush.
“Everything happens in Darwin, it doesn’t really go out to anywhere else,” she said, “[there needs to be] more opportunities for Katherine.”
In April 2025, Kate walked on the stage of the NT Young Achiever Awards for her efforts in ‘connecting communities’. The 17-year-old, now one of the Northern Territory’s emerging leaders, said that the award was out of the blue.
“Having three other amazing finalists standing next to me, I [thought] there was no chance I’m getting this.”
“[But after] hearing my name, I was like ‘Oh wow, I really just did that’.”
