Mariah Denman (nee Storch, born 21 June 1997) is an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays for the

Central Queensland Capras Central Queensland Capras are a semi-professional rugby league football club primarily based in Rockhampton, Queensland and representing Central Queensland. They currently play in the Queensland Cup, the premier rugby league competition in Quee ...

in the

QRL Women's Premiership The QRL Women's Premiership, known as the BMD Premiership due to sponsorship from BMD Group, is the top level of women's rugby league football in Queensland, Australia. Run by the Queensland Rugby League, the competition is Queensland's first s ...

and the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL Women's Premiership. Primarily a er, she is a Queensland women's rugby league team, Queensland representative and previously played in two grand final wins for the Brisbane Broncos.

Background

Born in

Barcaldine, Queensland Barcaldine () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Barcaldine Region in Queensland, Australia. This is the administrative centre of the Barcaldine Region. Barcaldine played a major role in the Australian labou ...

in the central west, Denman moved 385 kilometres east to the mining town of

Blackwater Blackwater or Black Water may refer to: Health and ecology * Blackwater (coal), liquid waste from coal preparation * Blackwater (waste), wastewater containing feces, urine, and flushwater from flush toilets * Blackwater fever, an acute kidney disea ...

after her parents obtained work in the local coal industry. Denman attended school in Blackwater. After graduating from high school, she became an apprentice diesel mechanic. She began playing rugby league with the newly formed Blackwater Crushettes in 2015. In 2016, she was named as Blackwater's Player of the Year. Storch subsequently began playing for the Central Queensland Capras, coached by

Alan McIndoe Alan McIndoe (born 14 May 1964) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland state rugby league team, Queensland Rugby League State of Origin, State of Origin and Australian international repre ...

before

Adrian Vowles Adrian Vowles (born 30 May 1971) is a former professional Scotland international rugby league footballer who played as a or in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in Australia for several years, gaining State of Origin selection in 1994, but spent ...

selected her as a wildcard for the emerging Queensland women's side. In 2020,

Central Highlands Regional Council Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', and ''Wadjigun)'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensla ...

recognised Denman as Senior Sportsperson/Administrator of the Year for the Blackwater/Duaringa district at the local

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

awards.

Playing career

2018

In June, Denman represented Queensland Country at the Women's National Championships. On 22 June, she made her debut for Queensland women's rugby league team, Queensland, coming off the bench in their 10–16 State of Origin loss to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. On July, Denman joined the Brisbane Broncos

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for women's rugby league in Australia, female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the ...

team. In Round 1 of the

2018 NRL Women's season The 2018 NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) was the first season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Only two of the four sides, the Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors, took part in pre-season trial games. T ...

, she made her debut for the Broncos, coming off the bench in a 30–4 win over the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...

. On 30 September, Denman came off the bench in the Broncos'

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

win over the Sydney Roosters.

2019

In May, Denman represented Queensland Country at the Women's National Championships. On 6 October, Denman won her second NRLW premiership, coming off the bench in the Broncos' 30–6

win over the Dragons.

2020

In 2020, Denman joined the

for the inaugural season of the

. She later missed the

2020 NRL Women's season The 2020 NRL Women's Premiership was the third season of professional women's rugby league in Australia. Teams Pre-season Regular season The season operated under a round-robin format, with games played as curtain-raisers to the 2020 NR ...

due to pregnancy.

2021

Less than two months after giving birth to her first child, Denman returned to the QRL Women's Premiership competition for the Capras, playing six games during the season.

2022

After playing nine QRL Women's games for the Capras in 2022, Denman was named the Steph Hancock BMD Premiership Player of the Year after helping lead the Capras to the 2022 minor premiership.

2023

Denman continued playing for the Capras in 2023. In May, it was announced she would be making her return to the NRLW after re-signing with the Brisbane Broncos. On her re-signing with the team, coach

Scott Prince Scott Prince (born 27 February 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club footba ...

said Denman had been playing great football for a long period of time and therefore deserved to be rewarded with another chance in the NRLW.

References

External links

QRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storch, Mariah 1997 births Living people Australian female rugby league players Rugby league second-rows Brisbane Broncos (NRLW) players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin Women players Rugby league players from Queensland Sportswomen from Queensland People from Barcaldine, Queensland