Outstanding performances from Ella Sabljak and Shae Graham have led the Australian Steelers to a resounding 62-31 victory over New Zealand at the 2026 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Brazil overnight.
Sabljak was presented with the Player of the Match award at full-time, but admitted her surprise that it did not go to Graham, after the duo helped continue Australia’s impressive unbeaten start to the tournament following their thrashing of Canada on day one.
Quite unexpected. Yeah, I had no idea. I thought Shae deserved it, she had a monster of a game.
While the New Zealanders were out-muscled in the heavy loss, they did not go down without a fight, with Sabljak finding herself on the receiving end of a brutal shunt from experienced WheelBlacks high-pointer Hayden Barton-Cootes in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, Hayden came out of nowhere. I was bounce-passing it to [Andrew Edmondson], and then he just cleaned me up. [I was] not rattled, but just shocked.” she said.
Photo credit: Wheelchair Rugby Australia / Albin John
With her baby daughter among the team’s supporters in the crowd, Sabljak said she was relishing her return to national duties while juggling her new responsibilities of parenthood.
“Yeah, I love it. I missed competing when I was out. I didn’t miss all the daily training, but I missed being around the team and playing, so I’m very, very happy to be back, Sabljak said.
With four of the 12-selected Steelers being female, Australia boasts the highest percentage gender split among any nation competing at the World Championships in Sao Paulo, in what is a mixed sport.
Sabljak, along with Graham and Emilie Miller, are all featuring at their second World Championship after creating history as the first female trio to win a World Championship when the Steelers triumphed at the previous edition in Denmark in 2022.
With her baby daughter among the team’s supporters in the crowd, Sabljak said she was relishing her return to national duties while juggling her new responsibilities of parenthood.
“Yeah, I love it. I missed competing when I was out. I didn’t miss all the daily training, but I missed being around the team and playing, so I’m very, very happy to be back, Sabljak said.
I love looking up to stand and just seeing [her daughter] there. Obviously, she’s got no idea what’s going on but it’s super special to be here.
With two convincing wins to open their World Championship campaign, the Steelers face difficult pool assignments in their next two outings, host nation Brazil and the undefeated United States.
But Sabljak believes the experience and cohesion of the Steelers have them well-placed to emulate their gold medal-winning feat from four years ago.
“I think in 2022 when we came in, we could really feel the pressure,” she said.
“But for me personally, we’re all so skilled and we’re all so drilled in what we know what we can do. So coming in, it feels like we’re playing free. We’re all playing with the same purpose and it’s 12-deep, this team. I think that’s the biggest difference [in 2026].”
The Steeler’s next match is against Brazil on Thursday at 8:30am AEST.
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