Brooke and former NRL and Australian coach Chris Anderson
PTE Brooke Moselen 1RAR ( centre ) pushes past the opposition during the Remembrance Day rugby clash against the Townsville Brolgas
A lightweight secondrower , she played as a ball distributor in the forwards , standing wide of the ruck and linking to the backs in attack . “ It was more of a centre role , but I was in the forwards ,” she said . It was in her second year in the competition that she broke her leg . She was selected in the secondrow for the inaugural ADF rugby league camp conducted in Brisbane last month . Designed to cover basic skills and provide the participants with a rugby league experience , Brooke was very excited to meet former NRL and Australian coach Chris Anderson , who was a member of the coaching group . Army coaches Darren “ Joey ” Joseph and Corey Lars asked him to play the role of selector to ensure their preconceived opinions of the players didn ’ t affect their chances . Anderson impressed Brooke with his humility and respect . Twice Dally M Coach of the Year in the NRL , he won premierships with Canterbury and the Storm , a World Cup in 2001 , and coached the Australian team to series wins against New Zealand and Great Britain . “ He rates going to the Rio Paralympics and walking the Kokoda Track as better than any of his rugby league achievements ,” Brooke said . “ He was so humble , and a really great person .” While they played one match against an experienced Brisbane club side that included four Jillaroos in the lineup ( losing 32-6 ), the focus of the camp was the inaugural Defence World Cup to be held in Sydney in July . Brooke came back early from the camp to go on exercise with the Battalion in its lead-up to taking on the ADF ’ s Ready Battle Group role in July . But there is still plenty of football on the horizon . There is an inter-brigade rugby union competition scheduled for early May where she will be vying for selection in the Army team to contest the inter-service championships , and then , hopefully , the ADF team to play internationally . While her thoughts in idle moments might stray onto the football field , she is keen to learn what will be expected of her as a clerk in Support Company as the Battalion prepares to go “ online ”. The former office manager in a building certifying firm , will surely take that in her stride as well .
74 | APRIL 2017