Oztag: Jess O'Brien named in Australian Oztag team

The 32-year-old had played for most of her life and been selected in representative sides since she was 15, but acknowledged that her commitments to work, other sports, and her growing family took precedence.

At the State Cup last month, O'Brien broke the news to her Tamworth teammates.

"I said to everyone that this is my last tour. I'm not playing rep Oztag anymore, I'm done," O'Brien said.

As it turns out, she was wrong.

Two weeks later, O'Brien got a call from the coach of the Australian senior mixed Oztag team, Michael Anderson, telling her that she had been named in the side to play in the World Cup slated for Ireland in August.

She was "very surprised" to get the call-up, but relieved at the same time.

"There was a bit of a mishap a couple of years ago, where I thought I was named in the 30s side, but it turned out there was another Jess O'Brien," she said.

"When they rang me this time, I said 'Are you sure?'"

Indeed it was the right O'Brien on this occasion, and the Tamworth local will finally make her Australian debut after 17 years playing representative Oztag.

While she intends to return to retirement after the tournament, O'Brien intends to give it her best crack as part of the team, and hopes to make the most of the second overseas trip of her life.

"My mum and my auntie are going to come for the trip and watch me play," she said.

"We'll stay on an extra couple of days and see a few things. But the rest of the time I'll be training and playing."

As it will be the first time she will have played alongside many of her Australian teammates, O'Brien expects to be "a fish out of water" initially.

"But hopefully I can just get in there and have a crack. It's one of the sports I love playing," she said.

It's more than the love of the sport for O'Brien. She has grown up involved with Oztag in a personal way, which will make it hard for her to walk away after the World Cup.

"I've known [Tamworth Senior Oztag coordinator] Pam Potts since I was two," O'Brien said.

"I babysat her kids when they were babies. And we've always been involved with Oztag. But I'll still be around and help out when I can."

An overseas trip, even to represent Australia, does not come without costs. To that end, O'Brien thanked her sponsors, SMW Kitchens and Inland Cafe, for their support.

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