The Helensburgh representative endured two years of injury hardship, with a stress fracture forcing her out of last year’s World Cup final, all while trying to juggle her training load with full-time work commitments.

Bremner was announced on Tuesday as one of the St George Illawarra Dragons initial three signings for this season’s inaugural NRL Women’s competition and she admits the years of struggles were worth it. 

The signing comes after Bremner made a successful return to the field at last weekend’s National Championships, where she led NSW Country to victory and was named player of the carnival.

“I’ve had such a tough run in the last twelve months and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think it would’ve been easier if I did just stop playing,” Bremner said.

“There was a lot of heartache and a lot of goals and dreams were shattered last year.

“I just kept having to think of what was going to happen this year and I had to get myself healthy so that I could really have a good crack and take on the opportunities that the Dragons and the NRL have presented us girls.

“I’m so happy that I followed my dreams and didn’t give up and I was resilient because standing here today off the back of a carnival feeling healthy and really happy and looking forward to the next few months is exactly where I want to be.”​

Bremner’s signing was announced alongside that of fellow Dragons ambassador Kezie Apps and former Berkeley Eagle Talesha Quinn. 

Apps has endured hardship of her own on her journey to an NRL Women’s contract, forced to drive the four and a half hour journey from Bega to Wollongong to play for  Helensburgh for more than three years. 

Given the lack of options for women wishing to play rugby league in NSW when she first took up the sport, Apps admits she never anticipated the NRL would have a professional women’s competition set up in her playing days.

“I didn’t think the NRL competition would ever happen in my playing career,” Apps said.

“For all those long drives and all that dedication that I’ve gone through for me to be at this point today, obviously it’s all worth it and it’s all exciting and I just can’t wait for the future and to finally play for the Dragons and hopefully inspire other girls from the far south coast that anything’s possible.”

Like Bremner, Quinn was one of the first women to step foot on a football field in the Illawarra competition back in 2011, and while she’s travelled quite the journey since then, she couldn’t be happier to be returning to St George Illawarra. 

“I didn’t even think that there would be an NRL competition, it was meant to be in 2020, I was probably going to be retired in 2020,” Quinn said. “I’m getting a lot older now, to be a part of the first NRL Premiership is just amazing.”

The competition will commence in September.