Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens
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@MiketheSnow said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
Good match
That Aussie winger is a gun
The Aussie women’s team are very good, well coached and have good balance. Caslick is a superstar and Levi who is still so young is coming on in leaps and bounds.
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@ACT-Crusader said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
@MiketheSnow said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
Good match
That Aussie winger is a gun
The Aussie women’s team are very good, well coached and have good balance. Caslick is a superstar and Levi who is still so young is coming on in leaps and bounds.
Her sister Teagan is also a star in the making.
Meet the ‘incredible’ Australian sisters being chased by three footy codes
Teagan and Maddi Levi are in hot demand from AFL and NRL clubs but will play alongside each other for Australia in rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games.
Meet the ‘incredible’ Australian sisters being chased by three footy codes
Imagine having a daughter who has been tipped to dominate professional rugby union, rugby league or Aussie rules, depending on what sport she decides to pursue.
Imagine having another daughter, still in her teens and 16 months younger, with just as much potential who sits at the same dinner table every night.
Imagine if those talented girls were mentored and managed by a guy like Mat Rogers, one of Australia’s most recognisable dual internationals.
Then you’d get the Levi sisters.
Meet Teagan (18) and Maddi (20), the close-as-could-be sisters being chased by multiple clubs across three major football codes who will make their Commonwealth Games debuts next Friday with the all-conquering women’s Australian rugby sevens side.
Teagan and Maddi Levi were born in south-west Sydney but grew up on the Gold Coast, dreaming of travelling the world as dancers on a cruise ship.
Now they’re dancing on the footy field.
Described by their coach as “incredible athletes”, the pair have Rogers, the former Wallabies and Kangaroos legend, guiding them every step of the way.
“Maddi Levi is a phenomenal athlete [who is six foot tall] ... and Teagan is just so tough,” says Australian coach Tim Walsh. “Physically and mentally, they are absolute competitors.”
Rogers is one of Australia’s greatest code-hoppers. He played 200 NRL matches, State of Origin for Queensland and 11 league games for his country, as well as 45 Tests for the Wallabies that included a World Cup final in 2003.
e knows a thing or two about exceeding on the world stage.
In the late 90s, Rogers played league against a bloke named Jason Levi, who used to run out for Manly.
The pair stayed in touch over the years - their kids both went to the same school - as they built their lives on the Gold Coast.
Levi’s daughters might not be household names just yet, but there’s every chance they will be in the near future.
“We come from a sporty family, which has helped our genetics,” Maddi says. “Dad played footy for Manly in the rezzies [reserves] and a few first grade games. Mum played netball.
“Our first dream was to dance on a cruise ship. We would dance every day after school from 4pm until 9pm.
“Now we’re travelling the world and we get to play footy.”
When Maddi was in Year 10, she wanted to play rugby, but her mum wouldn’t let her.
“But she let her play,” says Maddi, pointing at her younger - and shorter - sister. “Teagan had a bit of mongrel in her.”
Once both caught the footy bug, nothing could stop the Levi sisters. They juggled Aussie rules and rugby commitments, knowing they had the luxury of doing so in their teens.
They played Aussie rules for Miami High, then for Bond University in the QAFLW, with Maddi up front and Teagan in the midfield.
While still chipping away at rugby - and succeeding - the pair were drafted by the Gold Coast Suns in the AFLW.
Maddi represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics last year before it was announced in October the pair had turned their back on Aussie rules, for the time being, to accept full-time contracts in the sevens program.
“AFLW and NRLW is still there, which later down the track we’d love to give a go, but for now our heart is set on sevens,” Maddi says.
“In sevens there is so much opportunity and it’s a growing sport. With the Olympics coming up and World Series [tournaments] every year, travelling the world with your best friend ... there’s no other sport that compares to that.”
Teagan adds: “Mads has been my best friend since day one. I guess we do fight a little bit, but as we’ve grown older I wouldn’t change it for the world to finally play in an Aussie sevens team together. It’s a dream come true.”
Maddi chimes back in. There is a synchronicity about the duo who don’t seem to stop smiling.
“Although we’re always travelling, you’ve still got a part of home with you,” Maddi says. “She’s my biggest critic and I’m her biggest critic.”
So, what next? Rogers, contacted by the Herald and The Age weeks after the initial interviews with the Levi sisters, said he was blown away by their ability.
“They are in demand, I can assure you of that,” Rogers says. “We’ve had four NRL clubs want their signatures and the Gold Coast Suns have tabled an offer for Teagan. They are freak talents. They could comfortably play and excel in all three codes. They have worked their tails off.
“In the last 12 months things have skyrocketed for them. They are just the most beautiful, humble young girls that have a work ethic of few that I’ve seen before. They just want it so badly. That’s a unique trait. With skill level and desire and work ethic, put those things together and you get freak athletes like LeBron James or Tom Trbojevic or those sort of players that dominate.
“Their highlight reels are pretty mind-blowing.”
The praise goes both ways.
“Having Mat Rogers in our corner is one of the best things we have chosen to do,” Teagan says. “We did catch the back end of his career.”
Maddi adds: “He’s played both codes, so he knows what’s best.”
The Levi sisters are one of three sets of siblings in Birmingham competing for Australia, with the others being Angela and Jack Yu (badminton), as well as Nathan and Josh Katz (judo).
They are certainly not the finished product. Maddi is the more established player for Australia. She scored 24 tries in 34 sevens matches during the recent World Series circuit, while Teagan is highly regarded by those inside the sevens set-up.
Earlier this year, Australia won their first World Sevens Series title since 2018 but are chasing Commonwealth Games redemption against New Zealand, who secured a 17-12 victory in the final on the Gold Coast four years ago.
“We want to show the world where we’ve come since the Olympics,” Maddi says.
Post Commonwealth Games, the phone calls to Rogers will continue to roll in.
Do the Levi sisters consider themselves a package deal? They are off contract with the sevens program at the end of 2023 but do have the 2024 Paris Olympics on their mind.
“I wouldn’t say they’re 100 per cent a package deal, but at this stage it’s probably leaning that way,” Rogers says.
Maddi and Teagan say they are open to going their separate ways down the track.
“It’s not like a one-in, all-in [situation],” Maddi says.
Teagan adds: “If you want to try and crack the team like I am - I think playing one code is what my main goal is. Hopefully I can make the Olympics. That’s a dream.
“But it doesn’t mean I’ll shut doors to other options.”
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I missed both games. Convincing result from the AB7s, but very disappointing to see the girls miss out on a spot in the Final. But I knew that was a strong possibility with the squad they (the Aussies) have. Now, you know why I posted this.
They should be able to win bronze. -
I'm surprised that Ozzie 7s yellow wasn't a penalty try. Take the hair pulling out of the equation, woodman likely to score, it was only the hair pulling that slowed her down so the other defender got there.
Not very practical hair for contact sports, really
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@Machpants said in Commonwealth Games (2022) - Sevens:
I'm surprised that Ozzie 7s yellow wasn't a penalty try. Take the hair pulling out of the equation, woodman likely to score, it was only the hair pulling that slowed her down so the other defender got there.
Not very practical hair for contact sports, really
If I remember rightly Brian O’Driscoll pulled out one of George Smiths dreads back in the day.
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Birmingham 2022 Results
