At 31, Clydsdale has achieved almost every honour the game has to offer, winning four consecutive grand finals – two with Sydney Roosters and two with Newcastle – as well as representing Australia in nine Tests and NSW in 10 Origins.
The schoolteacher from Scone appears to be at the peak of her powers and has taken inspiration from the likes of Ben Hunt and Daly Cherry-Evans, who are both still highly influential in their mid-30s.
A crowd of 25,782 turned out for Origin II in Newcastle last year, despite horrendous weather.Credit: Getty Images
Her husband, former Newcastle, Canberra and Cronulla hooker Adam Clydsdale, has encouraged her to keep playing while ever she is enjoying it and is content to wait to start a family.
“He’s always like, play as long as you can, because it doesn’t happen very often that you get to do this,” she said. “And I think as long as I’m enjoying the game, I’ll keep playing and I still haven’t lost that love.
“So I think when I lose the love, that’s when I’ll probably take a step back. But I still love every single time I get to put a jersey on and run on the field. So until I lose that, I think I’ll keep playing.”
Clydsdale admitted, however, that there will be plenty of younger rivals with designs on her rep jerseys.
“It’s still really, really hard for me to keep making teams, because all the young girls coming through are just so good,” she said. “They’re so aggressive. They’re so built. They keep pushing me to be better.
“And I feel as long as I’m giving something back to the game, I’ll keep playing.”
Last year’s game in Newcastle attracted a then-record Origin crowd of 25,782, despite torrential rain, a number that was surpassed for this year’s series opener, which drew a 26,022-strong turnout at Suncorp Stadium.
Loading
The Blues need no reminding that their 11-10 loss in Newcastle last year allowed Queensland off the hook, and the Maroons won the decider in Townsville three weeks later.
“We all know as a squad that our job’s not done and we’ve still got a lot to prove out there on Thursday night,” Clydsdale said.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.