‘Oh my god’: Sam Bremner stuns Roosters teammates with fitness drill win after more than a year out of NRLW

Sam Bremner has sent an ominous warning to the rest of the NRLW, with the veteran fullback winning her first fitness trial since coming out of retirement just a week out from the new season.

The two-time World Cup winner won’t face the Knights on Thursday night given she’s had just a week to reacquaint herself with the team, having retired in January 2023 after one of the most decorated careers in the women’s game.

But the superstar fullback is back in footy after Corban Baxter tore her ACL in a pre-season trial match and has been ruled out for the rest of the year.

Bremner has always been one of the fittest players in the game, so it was no surprise that she returned to training last week after so long out of the game and dominated.

“We test out 1.2km times at the start of the year and then at the end. She came in for the last week of pre-season and wins the drill,” Roosters five-eighth Tarryn Aiken said.

“The experience and what she’s done in the game is second to none, so she’ll be a really valuable asset to our squad.

“I had no idea at all (that she was coming back). It was a big shock to everyone, but it was an exciting one. To see her walk into the club last week was really exciting and everyone was really happy.

“Everyone was obviously really disappointed for Corban because she’s so important to the team and the club, so it was a tough pill to swallow to lose her, but she’ll be around the team.”

Bremner played one season for the Roosters in 2022 and played alongside Aiken in the Jillaroos side that destroyed New Zealand in the World Cup final.

“She was huge for me and the squad,” Aiken said.

“She was one of our captains, and the energy and leadership she brought to the squad was really good.”

Great mate Kezie Apps has enjoyed plenty of incredible moments with Bremner in the representative arena, which is why she had an inkling that her career wasn’t over.

“It wasn’t that I had a feeling, but I knew that if an opportunity arose, she would definitely grab it,” Apps said at the NRLW season launch in Sydney.

“She’s the type of person who loves staying fit. She posted a few videos on social media of her training, and I was like ‘oh my god’ because she may have retired but she’s still worked really hard.

“I feel so sorry for ‘Corbie’. I reached out to here because you don’t want to see anyone get an injury like that.

“It’s an opportunity for Sam to come in and I know she’ll smash it because she’s an awesome athlete and human.”