By SHANNON GREGORY
ENGLISH international Fran Goldthorp has capped a breakout season in the NRLW, with her peers at North Queensland naming her their players’ player of the year.
The Cowboys’ season ended with a narrow 24-18 defeat to Cronulla in Townsville in the play off eliminator, Goldthorp opening their account.
The former Leeds Rhino shifted from fullback to the right wing in 2025, a move which proved to be a masterstroke by Cowboys coach Ricky Henry.
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In 12 games, Goldthorp crossed for six tries, while also registering seven line breaks and 43 tackle busts.
Her 1,558 running metres were the highest of any Cowboys player and the eighth most in the competition, with her best performance coming in a Round 10 victory over the Dragons when she crossed for two tries, registered 235 metres, three tackle breaks and a line break.
When Goldthorp signed with the Cowboys after the last World Cup in 2022, English officials were relieved that she was heading to the NRLW because they feared losing her to rugby union.
Still in her teens at the time, Goldthorp had won two Women’s Super League premierships with Leeds, scoring 45 tries in 44 matches, and was being courted by the rival code after representing England U20s.
The Red Roses have maintained an interest in Goldthorp, who had a stint with Loughborough Lightning during the NRLW off-season, and there was speculation they would target her for this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.
However, after three seasons in North Queensland, Goldthorp – who has extended her stay until at least the end of the 2027 season – is not only glad she made the decision to join the NRLW but encourages other English players to make the move.
“I definitely think after the World Cup a few years ago I needed a new challenge, and this has been the perfect thing for me,” she said.
Also a talented cricketer, she noted that many of the players have moved to Townsville which has ensured a close bond that is reaping results on the field.
“The majority of us have relocated and then obviously you’ve got your core group that are based in Queensland, so we know that we all have to get around each other.
“We don’t necessarily have big, wide, proper families as you would call it, but we’ve all created families out of one another.
“I think the culture that we’ve created, the environment that Ricky’s created and the support network we’ve got from the wider staff will always make me come back.
“I just love being around the girls, I love the dynamic that we have, and the will then gets higher to want to perform. We trust each other and I think that is definitely shown on the pitch when times get hard.”
Goldthorp missed England’s 90-4 thumping by Australia in the Vegas Test earlier this year and is considering a break during this off-season to prepare for a big 2026, with the Rugby League World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea next October and November.
“I think something needs to change over there, how that will work and what that looks like I don’t know, but we need more transfer from girls coming from Oz to England and then vice-versa,” she said.
“We’ve definitely got young girls coming through, but whether they’re ready right now because of the comp back home is a different story.
“The girls here have got it great with the Pac Champs, and we need something like that to keep developing as a nation, otherwise we are going to fall behind again.”
With RLWC2026 looming and a standalone Women’s World Cup in 2028, Goldthorp said she would support England selecting Australian-based players with English heritage and that the likes of Roosters edge player Jasmin Strange, playmaking utility Jocelyn Kelleher and Bulldogs halfback Tayla Preston would immediately strengthen the England team in key positions.
“For me personally I’m on board with that, whether they then fit into the squad and how that looks like is a different story, but it’ll definitely bridge the gap.
“It would drive our ability to teach the younger girls about the game and spread that knowledge of playing at a quicker pace, playing at a different standard, a different skill set so I think it would definitely be a good thing.”
For now, though, she is contemplating a rare but well-earned break. “For the last three years I’ve done back-to-back seasons. I’ve played here, gone home and played rugby union, and then come back, but we’ll see what happens,” she mused.
“I am a person that doesn’t like to switch off, so it definitely helps me stay in the grind a bit and keep my fitness up, but it is definitely taking its toll.”