Sport
4 November, 2025
Snakes teen tackles NRL youth award
CABOOLTURE teenager Poppy O’Shea has been named the NRL’s Young Person of the Year for 2025 at their Community Awards, recognised nationally for her outstanding contribution to the Caboolture Snakes rugby league club.
From playing and coaching to running the club’s merchandise shed each weekend, the 17-year-old has become a driving force in the local league community.
The national accolade follows her state win in May this year, when she was awarded the QRL’s Young Person of the Year. That win came with the added bonus of a Suncorp Stadium tour and tickets to Game 1 of the State of Origin series.
Poppy said her drive to help others and her club comes from the purpose behind it. “Many people say ‘it’s so hard to help out’ but you just feel so rewarded by it,” she told the NRL. “It’s not like you’re helping out for no reason, because there’s a purpose behind everything you do, so I think it’s really good to just get in there.”
The Caboolture High School student started her rugby league journey as a 12-year-old, facing a lot of adversity when she first started playing. Despite having many commitments across school, club, and representative training, Poppy was determined to give back to the club in numerous ways, including one-on-one development coaching, running kicking sessions, League Safe duties, and running the merchandise shed for three years.
Caboolture Snakes coaching co-ordinator Shane Tehuia said Poppy “goes above and beyond” for the club. “She’s the first on to turn up on any given day, whether it’s training day or cup day, and is the last one to leave,” he said.
Poppy’s mother, Michaela O’Shea, said she deserves every honour that comes her way. “Poppy is a very positive, driven girl,” she said. “She was one of those players that had to come in and learn really fast, going into a competitive league. It’s her drive, it’s her want to give back at a grassroots level that makes her stand out.”
“It’s very hard to get somebody to open that merchandise office on a game day, but she’ll sit up there and sell things and make money for the club, which is great.”
This year Poppy also stepped up to become a coach for the under-13 girls’ team, wanting to use her training and knowledge to make a difference to younger girls. “Based on her own experience, she felt like she had something to offer, both in teaching good culture, but certainly in skill set,” Michaela said.
Michaela added that, from a young age, her daughter’s goal in life was to get an Australian jersey, with Poppy also talking about having a career alongside footy as a firefighter. “She definitely wants to follow her pathway as a footy player first,” she said. “She’s obviously been through the state championships program, through school girls, and she’s part of the NRL Dolphins women’s academy, which is very exciting. I think that she will continue to coach and do whatever she can within the community while she’s doing that. If she’s successful after all of that, she’s probably the style of person that would go through and want to coach at an upper level, for sure.”
