St George Illawarra women’s recruit Annette Brander has revealed she will take a financial hit to play in the NRL Women’s competition.
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Despite the leaps and bounds the women’s game has taken in recent years, the sport remains semi-professional and most stars must work full or part-time jobs to support their careers.
For someone moving interstate like Brander, that means asking for time off work.
“I had to take seven weeks leave without pay,” Brander said. “I work as a legal assistant in Brisbane, they’ve been really supportive of that and they’ve helped me with taking time off.
“When I was first making the decision, it was one of the things that was stressing me out a bit. Not knowing whether I would have an income when I was down here, how I was going to get by, I’m not very good at budgeting.
“Luckily I’ve got some savings as well and the Dragons have helped me find a job at a local cafe, so that will be good just to have some pocket money as well.”