Former North Sydney Bear signs for Orange Emus

Having played with the club since 2018 - the club's first in the Harvey Norman Women's Premiership - Keefe was a do-it-all utility player that every side wants to have around.

From hooker, to second-row, centre and most recently lock, she always wanted to get in on the action.

"I really like the contact side of things," she said.

"I grew up in a big family, I have lots of brothers and I was always so jealous that they would play footy on weekends and I wouldn't.

"There's nothing like putting a good hit on someone, or someone putting a good hit on you."

Over the years, she has seen the game grow from a place you could make a couple of bucks, to a stepping stone for a full-time career.

"There was a huge change in the first couple of years with the professionalism of the team, the coaching staff and the facilities," she said.

"Bears were one of the better clubs from the start in how they treated their women's team. They treated us like athletes."

Up until 2023, Keefe was a physio in training. Now, she is finally done studying and is putting her knowledge to the test in the real world.

With this comes extra responsibility and much less free time.

"This year I had to make a decision between playing footy and my career," she said.

"Unfortunately footy couldn't be my career, but for some girls it is and that's really awesome."

Part of her work with the Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick includes a four month stint at Orange Health Service.

So after taking a week to get settled and with that free time back on the cards thanks to a much less daunting commute back and forth to work, she decided to take in a training session with Orange Emus.

Keefe is no stranger to rugby union, having played both 7s and 15s with Gordon previously.

What she found was unlike anything she ever imagined.

"The first few minutes at training, I felt like I was at home," she said of the club's welcoming nature.

Keefe's first game came against cross-town rivals Orange City, which was then followed up by a match against title contenders, Bathurst Bulldogs. On both occasions, Emus lost in close affairs, but overall Keefe has been pleasantly surprised with the level of competition she's experienced.

"You'd think Sydney would have a higher level of rugby union but I find the club stuff was really dominated by one team and the rest didn't have much of a foundation," she said.

"I know Dubbo and Bathurst are the two real standouts, but I feel like there's a nice balance across each of the country sides here."

Although she will miss the last few rounds of the regular season due to a pre-booked holiday, she will be back in time for finals, should Emus crack the top four.

"I'm loving it."

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