The Agenda Setters Rugby League on Channel 7: Peter V’landys told Isabelle Kelly she was Jillaroos captain – Isabelle Kelly learned she would captain the Jillaroos for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup only moments after celebrating the Sydney Roosters’ NRLW premiership, she told The Agenda Setters: Rugby League on Channel 7.
Kelly said Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys delivered the news as she came off the stage with the trophy on Sunday. She then spoke with Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner. The timing added another milestone to a season in which Kelly captained New South Wales to an unbeaten Origin series and led the Roosters through an undefeated NRLW campaign.
The interview puts a personal moment behind Australia’s World Cup captaincy announcement. Kelly now has little time to switch from a club premiership celebration to leading the national side: the Jillaroos open their tournament against Fetu Samoa at CommBank Stadium on Friday, 16 October. The match is part of Channel 7 and 7plus Sport’s live and free World Cup coverage.
How Kelly heard the captaincy news
Aaron Woods asked whether Skinner had called to offer Kelly the role. Kelly explained that the first word came in person, immediately after the grand final presentation.
I actually just got off the stage from lifting the trophy on Sunday and Peter V’Landys came over and told me that I was actually going to be the captain, so it all happened quite quickly
Isabelle Kelly, The Agenda Setters: Rugby League
Kelly said she spoke with Skinner soon afterwards. She described the appointment as a whirlwind and said she had not assumed the captaincy was coming, despite loving her time in the Jillaroos squad and wanting to perform at her best for Australia.
She is looking forward to leading a group that combines long-serving internationals with younger players. Her priority, she said, is to set a high standard while recognising the women who helped build the national programme.
Pressure, standards and a new Jillaroos group
Corey Parker raised Kelly’s remarkable run: an Origin series win, a perfect Roosters season and now a World Cup campaign as national captain. Luke Keary asked whether Australia’s recent World Cup success creates pressure inside the squad.
Kelly said the expectation attached to the Australian jersey is real, but she sees it as part of the privilege of representing her country.
I think pressure’s a privilege.
Isabelle Kelly, The Agenda Setters: Rugby League
She said established players have helped the younger members understand the standards expected of a Jillaroos representative. At the same time, other countries are improving, which Kelly expects to make the World Cup more competitive than the team’s past results alone might suggest.
Asked by David Riccio to pick a rising star, Kelly resisted naming just one. She pointed to Shaylee Bent after her year with Wests Tigers, Jaime Chapman and Sariah Paki, who crossed over from Australian rugby sevens. Kelly also expects experienced Jillaroos to make their mark.
Samoa first, with New Zealand a possible later rival
Kelly identified Fetu Samoa as Australia’s immediate challenge. She said players choosing to represent their family nations have strengthened the international game, and she expects Samoa to be difficult in the Jillaroos’ first pool match.
New Zealand sits in the other pool, so the trans-Tasman rivals cannot meet in the group stage. Kelly hopes they cross paths later in the tournament, describing that fixture as one of the highlights of the international calendar.
The official World Cup draw has Australia facing Samoa on Friday, 16 October, before meeting England in Perth on Saturday, 24 October. Those fixtures turn Kelly’s post-grand-final surprise into a rapid leadership test on home soil.
Kelly spoke with Parker, Riccio, Woods and Keary on The Agenda Setters: Rugby League. For TV Central’s match times and coverage details, read our Channel 7 Rugby League World Cup guide; the programme is available on the public 7plus The Agenda Setters: Rugby League page.