Michaela Leonard: 'There's a lot from last game that we want to improve'

The 2026 season has been a unique one in the history of the Wallaroos, with milestones for both individual players and the team at large headlining a year of transition towards full professionalism.

Their final clash in Canberra marks a full circle moment after kicking their season off in the Australian capital seven months ago. With Eva Karpani hitting 50 caps and the side set to farewell stalwarts Emily Chancellor and Cecilia Smith, preparations have taken on a different feel for the Wallaroos most capped player, Michaela Leonard.

Leonard herself became the first Australian to earn 50 caps when she ran out against Scotland last month in Edinburgh in WXV Global Series action, and with this year being such a notable one of change, this week has come with plenty of reflection.

“It’s definitely been a different week in the history of preps for Test matches,” Leonard told RugbyPass. “There’s definitely been reflection of the journey, and where the game has come in the time that myself and players like Eva and Chance have been playing the game.

“Chance and I were just talking about it yesterday; how we were playing two Test matches, four Test matches a year when we started. Now, we’re playing 10 games a year.

“We are seeing a lot of players not far off that 50 mark. Bridie [O’Gorman]’s not far off. Kaitlin [Leaney], she’s not far off, Freddie [Georgina Friedrichs].

“We’re going to start to see a lot more players playing more footy, gaining more experience and growing our depth and knowledge at the Test level as a nation.

“The group’s feeling really positive. Coming off the back of two wins has put us in a good position for this week, but there’s also a lot from last game that we want to improve.

“The group’s done really well to still stay focused and treat the week as any other and really put the footy first. The milestones definitely makes it feel a little bit more emotional and a little bit more special.

“I think everyone’s really focusing on celebrating every moment and enjoying every time that we’ve got together out there on the pitch or around the hotel.”

Leonard also took time to recognise the likes of Karpani, Chancellor and Smith, all of whom have been mainstays in the side with the 31-year-old since her 2019 debut.

“Eva reaching 50 caps, she’s been part of this group consistently for the last eight years,” Leonard said. “[It’s] a huge milestone for her, only the second to do it in our team is really special.

“We talk about work ethic, high standards, a love of competition and growth, and that desire to get better every day. I think both of them [Chancellor and Smith] in their own way epitomise what it means to be a Wallaroo.

“Emily Chancellor shows that tenfold on and off the field; the sacrifice of what it takes to put your teammates first and the team first.

“You see it in Cee every day. She’s away from her bub [daughter, Ruby] a lot of the year and she does that for the passion and the love for this game and to be part of this squad.

“[They are] two players that we’re really grateful we’ve had in this environment; ones that we’ll definitely miss out there moving forward.”

Smith and Chancellor have been named to start for the final of the three match series against the Scots in Canberra, with the Wallaroos coming in after an impressive 56-12 win last week in Sydney.

However, the Scots will likely come into the match hungry to finish the year off on a positive note, and with the Wallaroos aware of the weapons they pose after trailing them at halftime in Edinburgh, Leonard expects a tough encounter. And an opportunity for the women in gold to build towards an 80 minute performance.

“The scoreline [in Sydney] really didn’t reflect how challenging Scotland is as a team to play against and how physical [they are],” Leonard said. “We saw that particularly in the first half when they were at home in Edinburgh.

“We know that they’re going to come out firing, wanting to rectify last week’s score and to go home with a win under their belts.

“I think [for us] it’s just going out there and fixing our execution, being a little bit more clinical around the breakdown and collision areas.

“I think we’re definitely getting better, stringing those performances together for longer periods of the game and having less of those lapses across the 80 minutes.

“I don’t think we are far off it, getting that ability to play at this level and what it takes for 80 minutes, learning how to bounce back and reset when we do make errors, but then also make sure that we’re not allowing other teams to stack on top of our errors either.

“The more games we have with combinations, the better we see that improve.”

What lies beyond this match for Leonard and the squad is still uncertain, Director of Women’s High Performance Tim Walsh confirming the Australian programme will commence a full time integrated women’s program with the Australian Sevens side ahead of the 2027 season.

Next year will also see a new head coach in Sione Fukofuka as well – a welcome addition after the Wallaroos have had a rotation of interim coaches during 2026.

Details as to how that full-time programme will function and what it will look like are still forthcoming, but Leonard knows finishing this year with a bang will do a lot for this group as they look ahead to a new, exciting chapter in the team’s history.

“We definitely hope to see that the number of games continues to grow,” Leonard said. “The amount of time we have together in a professional environment continues to grow, those numbers and those milestones keep tallying up.

“Looking into next year and the next three years leading into the home World Cup, I think it’s going to be a pivotal changing point from the Wallaroos, as a team and as individuals, but also from a programme perspective.

“A good win on Friday night would be pretty special, not only for Eva, Cee and Chance on their milestone games, but also as a group to round out this transition period.

“We’ve had a pretty different year with a lot of change. I think the group’s done really well to band together and keep growing over the last couple of months.

“Those girls that have made such a massive contribution to our game here in Australia – a win would be a really nice way to round it out.”