Jada Taylor knows her work is making a difference through the growing number of Indigenous people proudly wearing Sharks-branded Deadly Choices shirts around the Sutherland Shire.
Taylor, the Cronulla club's NRLW fullback and Indigenous Programs Coordinator, delivers the Deadly Choices program to local schools. Her role involves educating and empowering First Nations youth to take charge of their health.
Students who finish the eight-week program receive a special Deadly Choices shirt, while any Indigenous person who completes a holistic 715 Health Check can also claim the Sharks-themed apparel.
The Sharks are one of eight NRL teams partnered with Deadly Choices after becoming the first Sydney club to align with the organisation in 2018.
"If you go to an NRL game in Queensland, Deadly Choices shirts are everywhere," Taylor, a proud Gamilaroi woman, said ahead of NRL Multicultural Round.
"When I first started at the Sharks, we hardly ever had that.
"Now I feel like, just in the Shire alone, we're seeing so many more Deadly Choices shirts getting around, which means that community members are going and getting their 715 Health Checks. And in particular our youth, so we're targeting the right people and we're getting that messaging out."
While Deadly Choices employs various NRL players as ambassadors, Cronulla are the only club with a designated employee to deliver the program locally. This unique arrangement is supported by the Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network (PHN) and the Vitalis Family Medical Practice at Kirrawee.
Taylor is often joined by Indigenous NRL squad members including Braydon Trindall, Jesse Ramien, Will Kennedy, Nicho Hynes, Hohepa Puru and Niwhai Puru, who use their profile to encourage positive decision-making.
NRLW star Quincy Dodd is also a regular Deadly Choices guest presenter.
Since 2024, the Sharks have hosted a yearly Deadly Choices Community Day where attendees can receive free 715 Health Checks, while Taylor helped deliver the Deadly Choices Healthy Lifestyle program to 104 students last year alone. A total of 2,099 Health Check shirts and 1,335 education shirts with Sharks branding were handed out to the Indigenous community in 2025.
"There's a gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, so the point of the program is to go in and educate," Taylor continued.
"The key to a healthier life is preventing these chronic diseases from occurring. We talk about leadership and how we can lead by example at school and in our community. We talk about smoking and vaping, nutrition, physical activity, harmful substances – all things that you wouldn't do as an elite athlete. It's so nice to take the boys into the schools and show them that these guys live by these values."
Ramien, who recently represented the Indigenous All Stars alongside Trindall, Hynes and Hohepa Puru, reiterated the impact of Deadly Choices.
"You learn good habits from a young age and that carries on with you throughout your life," the Cronulla centre said. "The younger you can teach that, the better it is. Statistically, things start to come down and more people do the right things."
Trindall added: "It's really important, especially for the younger generation. I think it's important to instil these good decisions and how to make 'deadly choices' with them. It's an awesome idea and I'm glad to be on board with them again."
Dodd, the Indigenous All Stars women's captain, believes Deadly Choices sets an example not just for youngsters but Indigenous people of all ages.
"It's not just in the classroom, but it's on the weekends, it's everywhere. It's a really important subject that everyone should talk about, and if you're not making your 'deadly choice', then you're probably doing the wrong thing," she said.
If she needed any further proof, an interaction Taylor had during an NRLW fan event last season underlined the value in what she does.
"A little girl came up to me ... her mum said she used to hate school," she said.
"She had a learning disability, and she just loved the Deadly Choices program. It made her start talking to other kids. And then it made her go home and tell her mum that she wanted to start playing footy. So, not only did she get involved in footy, but her mum also signed up and started playing League Tag.
"People can say a lot of nice things, but when you can tell on a mother's face that it really has changed her little girl's life, that was really, really nice.
"I honestly was in tears while she was telling me.
"I feel lucky that I get to work for the club in both capacities as a player and, obviously, do something that I enjoy and love in teaching youth."
