[2] Jacinda Barclay was born on 18 February 1991[3] to New Zealander parents[4] and grew up in Chidlow, Western Australia (a rural locality in the Perth Hills), and attended La Salle College.

Researchers uncovered neurological degradation to her cerebral white matter, similar to that found in the brains of former American football players.

Damage of this type is thought to be the result of multiple head injuries from contact sports and is linked to an increased risk of suicide, and is also known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy[19][20] In April 2021, Barclay's family and friends interviewed with The Guardian about her life and death.

Remembered as a strong and ambitious figure in women's sports, Barclay was also distressed by the different pay scales and recognition accorded to male and female athletes.

Barclay, who had been told she would easily have earned $200,000 a year as a male athlete, was paid $23,059 in 2020 as a tier two player for the Greater Western Sydney Giants women's team.

Her struggle to succeed in a business with a far lower ceiling for women than men, combined with her head trauma, was ascribed a factor in her death by her confidants.