Born in New Lambton, New South Wales, Brander moved to Caboolture, Queensland with her family when she was two-years old.
[3] In October 2017, she was named in Australia's 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup squad, playing four games in the tournament.
In July 2018, Brander joined the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL Women's Premiership.
[5] In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, Brander made her debut for the Dragons in their 4–30 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.
[8] On 6 October 2019, she started at second-row in the Broncos' 30–6 Grand Final win over the Dragons and won the Karyn Murphy Medal for Player of the Match.