Fifty and out: Why Millie Elliott is walking away from footy at the peak of her powers

Millie Elliott doesn’t half-arse anything. That’s been the key to her success – in family, footy and her burgeoning media career.

Or more specifically: four NRLW premierships, three Origin series victories, a daughter, Gigi, with partner Adam Elliott, an array of radio and podcast gigs and a contract with Nine (the owner of this masthead).

Elliott’s all-or-nothing mentality also explains why she has decided to hang up the boots at 28. She’s in career-best form and eyeing off another premiership with the Roosters, but the decision has been made.

“I had just made up my mind, and I knew that’s what I wanted,” Elliott said.

Her teammates have always admired her single-mindedness, and it has served her well in rugby league. But the pull of family life had become too great.

“Millie is very strong-minded, and she’s wanted to do this forever – get in, get out and then move on to be an amazing mum, which she’s already doing, but really put time into her family,” teammate Keeley Nizza said.

“It doesn’t surprise me. It’s amazing that she’s wanted to do this for such a long time and she’s brave enough to make that decision, because I feel like it would be a very hard decision to make, especially when you are at the top of your game.”

When the Roosters invited the media to join them for a “significant NRLW announcement” last week, the retirement of fullback Corban Baxter was not unexpected.

But when Elliott walked in the room along with Baxter, reporters did a double take.

Calm and measured as always, Elliott sat down and delivered the news that she was done with the game.

“I had dealt with it already in my own head,” she said. “It is emotional, and there are a lot of feelings around it, but because I had made up my mind and I had already come to terms with that being my plan, [it wasn’t too emotional].

“We needed to get that done [the announcement], that was just the next part of the process. And then it was like, ‘Now we’ve got training, and that’s what our next job is’. That’s what footy’s about – wins and losses, and everything in between.”

The next job is Canberra in the preliminary final on Saturday night, where Elliott will bring up 50 NRLW games. A win would see the Roosters progress to their third consecutive grand final, where they would face either defending champions Brisbane or the Gold Coast.

Elliott wasn’t part of the Tricolours team that lost last year’s decider in agonising fashion, having recently given birth to Gigi.

Did she feel then that she was finished with football?

“To be honest, I did not head into this season thinking it would be my last, at all,” Elliott said.

“Throughout the season it just kind of dawned on me that – she’s [Gigi] not at the age where she can talk at the moment, but I just didn’t want to be away too much from her, late nights and being away and whatnot,” Elliott said.

Already it has been a long season for Elliott. She played nines in Las Vegas in February, then the State of Origin series with a pre-season training block in April and May, before pitching straight into NRLW pre-season for the campaign that began in July.

There were few days off in between, with media commitments taking up much of the rest of her time. There wasn’t much left for her family.

“I just looked at it as, what else do I want to get out of this?” Elliott said.

“I love playing footy. I love my teammates. I love it all. But I was just thinking, ‘What is best for [me]?’

“I’m really proud of, and content with, what I’ve been able to do in the sport, and that is because of the great teams that I’ve been in and the people that I’ve played with, and I’m so lucky for that.”

A fifth premiership would provide a fairytale ending to her NRLW career. But the final frontier, should she be selected by head coach Jess Skinner, is a World Cup appearance for the Jillaroos in October.

It’s not on Elliott’s mind, but she’s certainly capable of it.

“She’s the best front-rower in the competition,” Nizza said. “I think that’s probably the [only] thing Millie hasn’t achieved in her rugby league career, playing at a World Cup.

“She’s very determined to finish off with the Roosters first and foremost, but I’m sure if that opportunity comes up, it would be one that she loves.”

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