It’s possible Adele Strange’s screams of delight at her daughter being named in the England World Cup squad were heard across Sydney, even if she lives 90 minutes north on the NSW Central Coast.
Jasmin Strange believes it could be true as it meant so much to her Yorkshire-born mum, who only moved to Australia after marrying her father, John, in England, where he began his coaching career after playing stints with Featherstone, York and Sheffield
Strange, who is preparing for her fourth consecutive NRLW grand final, is also eligible for Australia and New Zealand but will fulfil a long-held ambition to represent her English heritage at RLWC26.
"My mum has been asking me every second day if I’m in the squad,” Strange said of the many phone calls she’s received at training or relaxing at home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“Add my granddad in there too, as he’s been asking my mum every single day if we know if I made the England squad yet.
So now she is that excited. She actually told me it had made her life – not her day or week – her life.
“So now she is that excited. She actually told me it had made her life – not her day or week – her life.
“She’s not been really big into my footy career, but this has changed all that.”
So that’s one parent happy.
Jasmin now just has to try to please her dad – Roosters coach John Strange – with a third NRLW Grand Final win this Sunday against the Broncos to add to her 2022 success with the Knights and 2024 with the Roosters.
It’s the third straight final for the Roosters under Strange’s tutelage and the fourth since he took charge in 2021.
He’s also had extraordinary success with the NSW Origin team winning five out of six matches to take the 2025 and 2026 shields.
What makes a coaching mind like that tick? Jasmin knows him better than anyone.
She played the 2022 season with the Roosters NRLW side but then moved north to Newcastle in 2023 where she had earlier played two years of Tarsha Gale Cup (Under 19s).
“I just wanted to prove myself and move away from being the coach’s daughter,” she said.
“I felt like I knew a lot of the girls at Newcastle already so felt comfortable going back there. I played every game an won the premiership …
“But I just wanted to come back and be with my dad again – I love him as a dad and I love him as a coach.”
Jasmin is by no means a "teacher’s pet". She has been in two NSW Blues extended 30-player squads but not made the final Origin team.
“Yes, definitely no nepotism. We have a great relationship because we can differentiate easily between when he’s speaking to me as a dad or as my coach," Jasmin said.
“As a dad he’s soft and fun and happy and he’s the best dad you could ever want.
“As a coach he’s a pioneer in the women’s game and has brought so much respect to the women’s game.
“That comes from his mum being a strong and independent female who raised dad and his two sisters on her own.
“Dad has absolutely no room for misogyny or any of that casual sexism I feel still exists a lot in Australian culture.
“I’ve seen him shut down men who’ve come up to him and made certain remarks.
“He’s also fought so many battles for we female athletes that few see, from field availability to jersey sizes... he’s always fighting for us."
While now established as a starting second-rower for the Roosters and likely with England during the World Cup against Wales, Australia and PNG, Jasmin was dropped to the bench for the 2024 grand final.
John encouraged her to make the switch from the outside backs to the secondrow last season and she hasn't looked back.
“As a coach he is very direct. His communication is on-point," she said.
“I feel a lot of people come into the female space concerned they might hurt the girls’ feelings or be too lenient.
“He’s not like that. He treats us with respect. He will speak to us about something we did wrong but not carry on about it or make you feel like crap.
“He will just say, ‘this is where you’re at; this is what you’ve done; this is what you need to do’.
“I feel that’s gone a long way to his success, and our success.”
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