MONEY TALK: Millie Elliott

James Thornhill
and
Sarah Williamson
10:00am April 23 2025

For Millie Elliott, managing her personal finances is all about finding a balance.

“I don't know whether I'd call myself a saver or a spender. I think I sit in between - a little bit balanced,” the Sydney Roosters, Westpac NSW Blues Women and Jillaroos prop tells Wire in an interview. 

She’s not against the occasional splurge, just as long as it’s in moderation. It’s in keeping with her broader approach to make money work for her, rather than letting money dictate her decisions. 

“I love working hard because I love what I do. I’m not someone who checks how much money I'm making or how much money I've got in my account.”

That’s not to say Millie doesn’t have business savvy. As co-founder of the Trainer Group Foundation, which runs sport-based education programs for people living with disability, she’s developing managerial and administration skills that will help her to keep kicking career goals once her footy days are over. 

She’s also a presenter and pundit for Channel 9’s rugby league coverage and a Westpac ambassador.    

While the future looks bright, Millie has had to make financial sacrifices on her journey to becoming a professional athlete and acknowledges the challenges facing young people with a similar dream.

“As a female athlete growing up wanting to play sport, money was never the priority – you would just do whatever it took to play.”

After finishing school, Millie made the tough decision to leave a well-paid full-time job to take up a university sports scholarship. It paid off in the end, but she recalls having to lean on her parents for a hand-out now and again to help make ends meet. 

After a few years in rugby union, Millie made the switch to the fledgling NRLW in 2019, joining the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos are a huge name in the game but at the time salaries in the women’s game lagged far behind the men. 

“My first contract was $3,000 for the season. I remember thinking, how good is this – I just thought it was the best thing ever,” Millie says. “The fact that women were getting paid to play footy, it had never happened before.” 

The NRLW has gone from strength to strength since those early days, helped by Channel 9’s expanded television coverage and Westpac’s committed equal funding to the men’s and women’s games. 

“It's crazy to see where we are now. Contracts have gone up significantly, which is incredible.

“Coming in a sport where you give so much, not that you do it for the money, but it's nice to have that little bit less financial stress on your plate.”
 

James Thornhill

James Thornhill was appointed as editor of Westpac Wire in May 2022. Prior to joining the bank, he was a business and financial journalist with more than two decades of experience with international newswires. Most recently, he was a resources correspondent for Bloomberg, covering the mining and energy sectors, and previously reported on a broad range of topics from economics and politics to currency and bond markets. Originally from the UK, he’s had stints working in London, New York and Singapore, but is now happily settled in Sydney.

Sarah Williamson

Sarah Williamson is a video producer for Westpac Wire. Sarah joined the team in 2024 bringing with her nearly a decade of experience across all aspects of video production. She's worked with high profile companies including Canva and Lego.

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