‘She doesn’t even need her hands’: Levi magic shows why every code wants her
By Billie Eder
Maddison Levi’s standing as arguably the most sought-after footballer in the country was reinforced as the 22-year-old led Australia to a Rugby Sevens World Series victory in Dubai with a clutch play in the dying minutes of the final against Olympic champions New Zealand.
Levi lived up to claims she’s a once-in-a-generation talent with a match-winning intercept try. The 80-metre effort took Levi’s count for the tournament to 15, making her the all-time leading try-scorer at a single tournament.
Sister Teagan played her part too, also scoring in Australia’s 28-24 triumph. It’s the fifth consecutive time Australia has won the World Series.
The win capped a year for Levi that included 14 tries during her Olympic campaign in Paris and being named both the women’s rugby sevens world player of the year and Australia’s women’s rugby sevens player of the year for the second year in a row.
But Levi’s try in the final wasn’t even her most impressive of the week. That play was a show-stopping try against Fiji during the preliminary rounds. Her display led to former Wallaby Matt Giteau referring to her as a “cheat code” on social media platform X.
When a pass back on the inside from Demi Hayes hit the deck, Levi trapped the ball between her legs before shaking off two defenders and re-grouping to score.
The stunned commentator said: “She doesn’t even need her hands!“
It was one of four tries Levi scored in their match against Fiji. That came after hat tricks against China and Canada earlier in the tournament and a double against Great Britain.
Success in Dubai was Australia’s first tournament win since their devastating loss in the Olympic semi-final and bronze medal matches in July, and the first since Isabella Nasser took over the captaincy from Charlotte Caslick.
The Levi sisters are two of the most in-demand talents in Australian football, with the former AFLW players sought after by AFL, rugby league and rugby union.
Both are contracted to Rugby Australia until 2026, but Maddison told the Herald in October she was open to other codes.
“I guess NRL is definitely in the sights in a couple of years’ time, or whenever that time is, but right now, I’m obviously signed [at RA] till 2026, and as I just said, we haven’t won a gold medal with the Olympics yet, so I’m definitely not stepping away from this sport,” Levi said.
“So whenever that time is, I’m definitely open to other doors, obviously having played AFLW and hopefully NRLW, but yeah, I really want to take home that medal and leave a legacy.”