Ben Soole – Team Doctor

Greymouth product Griffin Neame earned a Kiwis call-up in 2022 after forging a regular spot in high-flying North Queensland Cowboys’ NRL line-up and made his Test debut in the 2023 Pacific Championships.

A promising junior who represented New Zealand Residents Under-16s in 2017, Neame headed across the Tasman and featured in Townsville Blackhawks’ Mal Meninga Cup and Hastings Deering Colts age-group sides in 2019 before turning out for Junior Kiwis.

The hulking, hardworking forward eventually joined the Cowboys on a development contract in late-2020 and made his NRL debut with three late-season appearances in 2021.

Despite competing for spots with a clutch of fellow tyros who broke into the Queensland Origin side in 2022, Neame clinched a permanent bench role in a Cowboys team that finished in the top four and reached the preliminary final stage. He was recognised for his performances with a place in New Zealand’s squad for the mid-season Test against Tonga.

Though Neame was not included in Michael Maguire’s matchday 17 and ultimately missed out on a World Cup spot in a deep engine-room contingent, he remained on the radar following another strong campaign for the Cowboys in 2023 and earning Kiwis selection again at the end of the year.

Neame played all three matches of New Zealand’s triumphant Pacific Championships campaign. He ran for over 100 metres in a 27-minute debut against Samoa, while he made a memorable 15-minute cameo at the end of the Kiwis’ record 30-0 rout of the Kangaroos in the final, steaming through for a sensational solo try – the last of the match.

A breakout campaign as a young leader in St George Illawarra’s NRLW pack saw Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa earn a maiden Kiwi Ferns call-up for the 2023 Pacific Championships.

Auckland-born Teakaraanga-Katoa came through North Sydney Bears’ ranks to make her NRLW debut in 2022 for Sydney Roosters, making a lone appearance for the club as an interchange.

But the 21-year-old continued to progress with Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership, forcing her way into the City Origin side and becoming a key member of the Dragons’ engine-room. Teakaraanga-Katoa played all nine of the Saints’ 2023 NRLW matches, including three starts in the front-row.

Teakaraanga-Katoa played in all three matches of the Kiwi Ferns’ post-season campaign in 2023, debuting at prop with 10 runs for 100 metres and 29 tackles in the loss to the Jillaroos in Townsville. She held the starting role for the wins over Tonga and Australia, producing similarly industrious displays to shape as a long-term Test representative.

Hawke’s Bay product Amelia Pasikala received a Kiwi Ferns call-up as a 19-year-old at the end of her 2023 NRLW rookie season with Sydney Roosters.

The Wairoa-born forward, of Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa, played for Hawke’s Bay Tui in the 2022 Farah Palmer Cup but made a phenomenally fast transition from rugby union, representing NSW City under-19s and starring for Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the 2023 Tarsha Gale Cup to catch the attention of the Roosters.

Debuting in Round 3, Pasikala played in seven of the Roosters’ last eight matches – including three second-row starts – while she scored tries off the bench in big wins over the Tigers and Eels.

The teenager was named as one of 12 Kiwi Ferns newcomers for the Pacific Championships at the end of the year and debuted off the bench against Australia in Townsville. Pasikala scored a try against Tonga just after entering the fray but soon afterwards suffered a gut-wrenching dislocated ankle in a hip-drop tackle, ending her campaign.

A stellar NRLW rookie campaign for fledgling Cronulla Sharks catapulted centre Annessa Biddle into the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championship squad in 2023.

The Otara Scorpions product scored two tries, racked up 1,366 running metres and made 33 tackle-breaks for the Sharks in their foundation season to collect a swag of awards.

Biddle was named Cronulla’s Players’ Player and Rookie of the Year, while she collected the Rugby League Players’ Association NRLW Rookie of the Year and Dally M NRLW Rookie of the Year honours.

The tyro scored a try on Test debut as a winger in the loss to Australia in Townsville, switched to the second-row against Tonga and dotted down again in a win, and produced a vitally industrious display (73 metres and 26 tackles) in the Kiwi Ferns’ pack as they carved out a memorable victory in Melbourne.

A late-comer to rugby league, Taupō-born half Ashleigh Quinlan was drafted into the Kiwi Ferns’ squad for the 2023 Pacific Championships at the age of 28.

A Touch Football World Cup winner for Australia who came through Dundas Shamrocks’ rugby league ranks in Sydney, Quinlan helped Parramatta Eels to the 2022 NRLW grand final, a loss to Newcastle Knights.

Quinlan represented New Zealand Māori Ferns against Indigenous All Stars in the 2023 pre-season and switched to join the fledgling Canberra Raiders for their inaugural NRLW campaign, playing all nine games in the halves alongside Zahara Temara.

She made her Test debut at five-eighth in a loss to Australia in Townsville, before coming off the bench impressively in the Kiwi Ferns’ monumental 12-6 defeat of the Jillaroos in Melbourne.

Te Awamatu product Capri Paekau’s dedication, as much as her talent, ultimately led to an NRLW debut with Parramatta and a Kiwi Ferns call-up for the Pacific Championships in a 2023 whirlwind.

The Hamilton Girls’ High School sporting star was selected for the New Zealand Māori Ferns’ 2020 clash with the Indigenous All Stars at just 18, coming off the bench in an 18-8 loss in Sydney. She made the commute from Te Awamatu to Auckland twice a week to further her rugby league development.

Paekau played for Point Chevalier and represented Counties Manukau before making the move across the Tasman. Following another All Stars appearance for the Māori Ferns at the start of 2023, the classy dummy-half played for South Sydney’s Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership team and earned a contract with the Eels, making five NRLW rookie-season appearances.

Pakeau was overlooked for the two Pacific Championships Tests against Australia, but she made her Kiwi Ferns debut in the 28-10 win over Tonga at Eden Park with eight runs for 42 metres and 16 tackles off the bench.

In a breakout season that also included debut for the Māori Ferns and the NSW Origin side, versatile Cronulla Sharks forward Brooke Anderson received a maiden Kiwi Ferns call-up for the end-of-year Pacific Championships in 2023.

The Rugby Sevens star was plagued by serious shoulder, knee and Achilles injuries, which seemingly dashed the Sydney-born athlete’s professional sporting ambitions. But Anderson fought back and her form with Cronulla’s Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership side in 2022 led to an NRLW debut with Parramatta, playing five matches for the Eels and scoring a try in their grand final loss to the Knights with the No.9 on her back.

Following her representative breakthroughs in 2023, the 27-year-old played all nine of the Sharks’ foundation NRLW foundation season matches at lock, hooker or off the bench, scoring two tries.

Anderson made the New Zealand No.9 jersey her own during the Pacific Championships, playing all three games and averaging 27 tackles. She was especially impressive in the stunning 12-6 win over Australia in Melbourne, however, making 13 runs for 96 metres and 25 tackles.

Rugby union convert Cheyelle Robins-Reti made a superb transition to rugby league in 2023, receiving the opportunity to become a dual international with her selection in the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships squad after a strong season for Canberra Raiders.

Auckland-born and Taranaki-raised, Robins-Reti moved to Hamilton after attending secondary school in Perth and made his provincial rugby union debut for Waikato in 2016. She represented the Black Ferns Sevens for the first time the following season.

The winger/fullback played the first of five 15-a-side Tests for New Zealand against England in 2021 and subsequently had Super Rugby Aupiki stints with Hurricanes Poua and 2023 champions Matatū.

Robins-Reti switched codes and played all nine of the fledgling Raiders’ foundation-season matches as a centre, scoring four tries, recording 37 tackle-breaks and running for 119 metres per game.

She made her only appearance of the Pacific Championships against Tonga, debuting on the wing with 10 runs for 99 metres and a line-break assist in the 28-10 win.

Versatile Jasmine Fogavini was one of 12 newcomers picked in the Kiwi Ferns’ 2023 Pacific Championships squad, receiving her first international call-up after two strong NRLW campaigns for Brisbane Broncos.

Auckland-born Fogavini came through Blacktown Workers’ ranks in Sydney, before playing for Valkyries (2021) and Souths Logan Magpies (2022-23) in QRL’s BMD Premiership.

A second-row regular in the Broncos’ 2022 NRLW foray, the 26-year-old played seven matches for the club in 2023 – six off the bench and one as a winger.

Fogavini’s versatility came in handy for the Kiwi Ferns at the end of the year, coming off the bench in all three Pacific Championships matches. She made 26 tackles on Test debut in the loss to Australia in Townsville, while she reeled off 10 runs for 100 metres in the victory over the Jillaroos in Melbourne.

Potent three-quarter Leianne Tufuga received her maiden Kiwi Ferns call-up for the 2023 Pacific Championships on the back of three prolific NRLW seasons on the tryscoring front for Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers.

The South Auckland product represented New Zealand at the 2018 Tag World Cup, as well as the Samoa and Auckland under-17s rugby league teams in the same year.

Tufuga played for Richmond Roses in the ARL Women’s Premiership and Cronulla Sharks in the 2021 Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership. The tyro was named in the NRLW New Zealand Merit Team after playing all seven games of the Roosters’ premiersip-winning campaign in the delayed competition played in early-2022 on the wing, scoring two tries.

Lining up for the Roosters again later that year in the 2022 NRLW, Tufuga scored twice in five games. She was snapped up by the debuting Tigers in 2023 and slotted in seamlessly at centre, bagging a double and a hat-trick during the first three rounds, and finished the season with eight line-breaks and an average of 128 running metres per game.

Tufuga featured on the wing in all three of the Kiwi Ferns’ 2023 Pacific Championships matches and ran for over 100 metres in each, but the undoubted highlight was crossing for the match-winning try eight minutes from fulltime in an epic 12-6 defeat of Australia in Melbourne.

Melbourne-born NRLW stalwart Najvada George received a maiden Kiwi Ferns call-up for the 2023 Pacific Championships.

George first flourished in the basketball arena, playing for WNBL club Dandenong Rangers and representing the Australian under-17s. She switched to rugby league in 2017 with Werribee Bears (near Melbourne) and represented Combined Affiliated States at the Women’s National Championships, before turning out for the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII against Papua New Guinea in 2018.

The powerhouse forward was Wests Tigers’ Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership Player of the Year and played three NRLW games for St George Illawarra in 2019 but an ACL setback stymied her progress in early-2020. George reemerged with Parramatta in 2022, featuring in the club’s drive to the NRLW grand final, where the Eels lost to the Knights.

George, 24, was a mainstay in the Tigers’ maiden NRLW campaign in 2023, playing all nine games at lock, while she came off the bench in all three of the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships matches, averaging 17 tackles and 92 metres. She racked up 12 runs for 100 metres and 18 tackles in a superb contribution to the 12-6 triumph over the Jillaroos in Melbourne.

New Plymouth-born rugby union convert Tiana Davison won a Kiwi Ferns call-up for the 2023 Pacific Championships after helping Newcastle Knights to NRLW premiership glory.

A product of the Clifton Rugby Club who excelled at rugby sevens, Davison played for Manawatu (2019) and Taranaki Whio (2020) in the Farah Palmer Cup.

The 21-year-old switched codes with the Knights in 2022, coming off the bench in two regular-season matches for the eventual champs, before forging a more permanent spot as an interchange forward in 2023. Davison scored a try in the Knights’ semi-final win over the Broncos and featured off the pine in the thrilling grand final victory over the Titans.

Davison made her Test debut in the Kiwi Ferns’ 28-10 win over Tonga – starring with 14 runs for 149 metres and 20 tackles off the bench – before playing another solid interchange role (nine runs for 60 metres, 12 tackles) in the triumph defeat of Australia in Melbourne.

A rugby sevens great and a Black Ferns XV Test player, Tyla Nathan-Wong switched codes as a 29-year-old and received a rapid Kiwi Ferns call-up after a successful NRLW transition with St George Illawarra.

Northland’s Nathan-Wong won two World Cups, an Olympic silver (Rio 2016) and gold medal (Toyko 2020), Commonwealth Games gold medal (2018) and six World Series titles during a decade in the New Zealand sevens team, while she was named New Zealand’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2015 and ’19, and World Sevens Player of the Year in the latter. A belated Test jersey arrived in 2022 following a Super Rugby Aupiki season with the Blues.

The veteran athlete was snapped up by the Dragons in May 2023 and partnered Kiwi Ferns superstar Raecene McGregor in the halves in all nine games, scoring three tries and kicking four goals, and chalking up five try assists.

Nathan-Wong added her name to the ranks of New Zealand’s dual internationals during the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships campaign, playing all three matches. She came off the bench in the loss to Australia in Townsville, before moving to five-eighth for the victories over Tonga and the Jillaroos – notching a try assist in both and averaging 18 runs.

Wellington product Danny Levi represented New Zealand at the 2017 World Cup after bursting onto the NRL scene with Newcastle Knights.

A Randwick Kingfishers junior, the classy hooker’s talent was recognised by the Knights, who signed Levi as a 16-year-old. He was named in the NYC Team of the Year and represented Junior Kiwis in 2014-15, breaking into first grade during the latter season.

Levi became an NRL regular in 2016 and played every game for Newcastle the following season before being named in the Kiwis’ World Cup squad. The 20-year-old featured all four matches at the tournament, coming off the bench in three pool fixtures and starting at hooker in the gut-wrenching quarter-final loss to Fiji.

The emergence of dynamic Melbourne rake Brandon Smith saw Levi slip down the pecking order, but he represented Samoa in post-season Test against Fiji in 2019.

Levi left Newcastle at the end of 2019 and embarked on one-season stints with Manly and Brisbane. After 112 NRL games, he took up a Super League contract with Huddersfield Giants in 2022 and started in four matches for Samoa during its watershed World Cup foray, though he missed the semi-final and final due to family reasons.

Returning to the NRL with Canberra in 2023, Levi started the year with the No.9 on his back was ultimately restricted to four top-grade appearances with a broken jaw interrupting his strong early form. With the likes of Brandon Smith and Jeremy Marshall-King unavailable, Levi received a Kiwis recall for the Pacific Championships after a six-year absence.

Levi missed out on a Kiwis dummy-half role during the tournament to Fa’amanu Brown and Kieran Foran, but he was excellent for Kiwis A in their win over Tonga A at Eden Park.

Christchurch-born utility Fa’amanu Brown’s career has been a study in determination and perseverance, receiving a maiden Kiwis call-up in 2023 at the end of his 10th season in a nomadic rugby league existence.

The Hornby Panthers junior moved to Sydney as a 16-year-old and graduating from Endeavour Sports High School, as well as progressing through Cronulla Sharks’ SG Ball and NYC ranks.

Brown made his NRL debut for the Sharks as a 19-year-old five-eighth during the club’s strife-torn 2014 campaign, effectively replacing the sacked Todd Carney. But after 11 eye-catching rookie-season appearances – and call-ups to both the New Zealand and Samoa Four Nations train-on squads – he suffered a season-ending knee injury at the following year’s Auckland Nines.

Returning to the field in 2016, the tyro was restricted to NSW Cup duty with feeder club Newtown Jets, starring as a halfback, while Cronulla surged to NRL premiership glory. Brown played in the Sharks’ World Club Challenge clash with Wigan in early-2017 and made nine top-grade appearances for the defending champs to pique the interest of Canterbury-Bankstown.

A regular NRL spot proved elusive – he played 12 games in the top flight for the Bulldogs across 2018-19 – but he won a NSW Cup grand final and State Championship with the club in 2018. Despite being named the Bulldogs’ NSW Cup Player of the Year in 2019, he was released at the end of the season.

Brown’s career hung in the balance after breaking the navicular bone in his foot – a complex injury from which many athletes don’t recover sufficiently to carry on playing at an elite level. But he regrouped via taking an opportunity with Featherstone Rovers, who play in England’s second division, after spending another entire season on the sidelines in 2020. He was a revelation in the halves for the club, scoring 16 tries in 25 games and helping Rovers to a grand final.

The versatile performer grabbed a train-and-trial chance with Wests Tigers in 2022 and scored six tries in 13 NRL games. A Toa Samoa rep in mid-season Tests in 2016-17, as well as the island nation’s disappointing World Cup campaign in the latter year, Brown’s five-year international hiatus ended when he was called up to play against Cook Islands during 2022. His stellar form for the Tigers garnered a spot in Samoa’s World Cup squad.

Brown scored a try off the bench against Greece and stepped into the hooker hot-seat for the semi-finals after Danny Levi withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons, playing his part in Samoa’s euphoric 27-26 golden point boilover against England at Emirates Stadium in front of more than 40,000 fans. A head knock ruled Brown out of the final, where a gallant Samoa went down 30-10 to Australia.

Returning to the Bulldogs, a shoulder injury in 2023 stunted his progress in familiar fashion but he made five NRL appearances before being snapped up late in the campaign by Newcastle Knights, playing another two top-grade games.

With the likes of Brandon Smith, Jeremy Marshall-King and Kodi Nikorima ruled out of contention, Brown was selected in the Kiwis’ 2023 Pacific Championship squad – and parlayed his unlikely call-up into a vital role in New Zealand’s triumph.

After initially being named at hooker for the opening game against Samoa, the 28-year-old came off the bench in all three matches. He set up a try on debut against the nation he represented in 2022, scored a trademark try burrowing close to the line in the 36-18 round-robin loss to Australia, and played 36 minutes of the Kiwis’ amazing, record-shattering 30-0 defeat of the Kangaroos in the final.

 

Northland product Wiremu Greig’s breakout 2023 NRL campaign with Parramatta led to a Kiwis call-up for the Pacific Championships.

The Otangarei junior was snapped up by North Queensland as a 17-year-old, turning out for Queensland Cup feeder teams Northern Pride (2019) and Townsville Blackhawks (2020-21).

After being a late Māori All Stars inclusion during the 2021 pre-season, Greig was granted a release to join the Eels and made two NRL appearances. He played just one top-grade game for the eventual grand finalists in 2022 (as well as making another appearance for Māori All Stars) but developed impressively at NSW Cup level.

The 23-year-old’s progression was one of the bright spots of the Eels’ difficult 2023 season, averaging 90 metres and 16 tackles in 16 games, picking up the slack for the intermittent absences of NSW Origin props Reagan Campbell-Gillard and Junior Paulo.

Greig was not called upon during the Kiwis’ successful Pacific Championships campaign, but he was a leading light for Kiwis A against Tonga A at Eden Park.

Northcote Tigers junior Keano Kini became one of the biggest Kiwis bolters of the modern era in 2023, called up for the Pacific Championships after just six NRL rookie-season appearances for Gold Coast Titans.

Kini moved from Auckland to the Gold Coast with his family and honed his craft at renowned rugby league nursery Palm Beach Currumbin State High School. The lightweight livewire was signed by the Titans and built up his senior football experience at Queensland Cup level with Burleigh Bears.

Less than a month after turning 19, Kini made his NRL debut off the bench in the Titans’ 2023 Magic Round victory over Parramatta Eels. He made two starts at fullback and another three interchange appearances before the end of the season.

Meanwhile, the versatile back won the Duncan Hall Medal as the player of the 2023 Queensland Cup grand final from the losing side, recognised for his dazzling display in the Bears’ defeat to Easts Tigers.

Kini missed out on a Test debut during the 2023 Pacific Championships, but he was a standout at fullback in Kiwis A’s win over Tonga A at Eden Park.

Gisborne-born middle forward Leo Thompson received his first Kiwis call-up for the 2023 Pacific Championships after just two seasons in the NRL with Newcastle Knights.

The former rugby union player – and identical twin of Chiefs Super Rugby star Tyrone – started his rugby league journey with Canberra’s Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup teams in 2020-21 before the Knights lured him to the Hunter.

Thompson played 16 of Newcastle’s first 17 games in 2022 but an impressive rookie campaign was cut short by a hamstring injury. The imposing tyro bounced back to make his Māori All Stars debut in the 2023 pre-season and cemented his place in the Knights’ engine-room contingent.

The 23-year-old missed just one game as the Knights rallied to finish fifth and reach the second week of the finals, starting at prop or lock in 24 of his 25 appearances. Thompson averaged 85 running metres and 30 tackles per game, while he tallied 47 tackle-breaks across a breakout campaign.

Thompson slotted into the international arena with aplomb, lauded as one of the discoveries of the Pacific Championships. As well as leading the Kiwis’ haka with mana and ferocity, the newcomer came off the bench in all three matches to average 39 minutes, 92 metres and 19 tackles. He saved his best for the record 30-0 annihilation of the Kangaroos in the final, charging for 134 metres on 14 carries in just 33 minutes.

Bay Roskill Vikings junior Naufahu Whyte earned a spot in the Kiwis’ 2023 Pacific Championships squad aged just 21 and after only 12 NRL appearances for Sydney Roosters.

The imposing back-rower was formerly a midfield back for Kelston Boys’ 1st XV, by which stage he was already on the Roosters’ books. He represented New Zealand Residents 16s and 18s in 2018 and ’19, respectively, before making the permanent move to Sydney.

The 19-year-old made three interchange appearances for the Roosters in 2021 as well as cementing a place in then-feeder club North Sydney Bears’ NSW Cup in 2021-22.

Whyte was regularly called up for the injury- and suspension hit Roosters in 2023, making two starts at lock among nine top-grade outings. He was also one of the Roosters’ NSW Cup team’s best players, averaging over 200 metres and 28 tackles in the second-tier competition.

The tyro was not called upon by the Kiwis for their three Pacific Championships Test matches – Whyte was 18th man for each game – but he shapes as a long-term prospect for the national side.

Blockbusting centre Matthew Timoko was a standout debut selection in the Kiwis’ 2023 Pacific Championships squad after two superb NRL seasons as a permanent member of Canberra Raiders’ backline.

The Otahuhu Leopards and Ellerslie Eagles junior was lured to the Australian capital and made his NSW Cup debut for Mounties in 2019, before earning his NRL spurs the following season as a 20-year-old with two appearances for the Raiders. He became a regular at centre for the Green Machine during the second half of 2021.

Timoko exploded in 2022, playing all 26 of the Raiders’ matches and producing a blinder in their stunning elimination final upset of Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park. He was named in the Kiwis’ wider training squad for the World Cup was an unlucky omission from the team that ventured to England.

The young powerhouse was one of Canberra’s best in an up-and-down 2023 campaign, playing every game and scoring an equal-team-high 11 tries, tallying 14 line-breaks and 118 tackle-breaks, and averaging 158 running metres per game. On three occasions he ran for over 250 metres – a remarkable feat for a centre – to shape as a key strike weapon for the Kiwis’ end-of-season Tests.

Timoko made an immediate impression in the Pacific Championships, notching two line-breaks and two try assists on Kiwis debut in a 50-0 thrashing of Samoa. He ran for over 140 metres in both matches against Australia and scored a try in the stunning 30-0 victory in the final.

Gutsy, versatile back Abigail Roache overcame serious injury setbacks to snare an unlikely World Cup final starting spot in 2022.

Roache, the younger sister of equally unlucky and resilient ex-Warriors utility Nathaniel, endured ACL tears in both knees before turning 20 and had further surgery to repair meniscus injuries.

The Cathy Friend Women’s Player of the Year in 2022 after a superb ARL campaign for Richmond Roses, Roache was initially left out of New Zealand’s World Cup squad but received a late call-up when Kararaina Wira-Kohu withdrew thanks to a torn calf days out from the tournament.

The 22-year-old made her Test debut in the 10-8 pool-stage loss to Australia and was called up to fill the five-eighth role again in the final, where the Kiwi Ferns were trounced 54-4 by the Jillaroos.

Following a season with Super Rugby Aupiki side Chiefs Manawa in 2023, Roache linked with Newcastle Knights and played all 11 games at centre in the club’s drive to a second straight NRLW premiership, scoring six tries. She was subsequently named in the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships squad.

Roache was an unused replacement in the first-up loss to the Jillaroos in Townsville, but a sizzling three-try (plus a try assist and 176 metres) display in centres in the win over Tonga earned her a backline spot against Australia in Melbourne, where she played a strong role in a 12-6 truimph.

Nineteen-year-old forward Otesa Pule was a bolter in the Kiwi Ferns’ Rugby League World Cup squad after a stellar NRLW rookie season for Sydney Roosters in 2022.

Auckland-born Pule played her junior rugby league for Caboolture Snakes in south-east Queensland, before playing a dominant role in the Roosters’ 2022 Tarsha Gale Cup triumph – scoring 13 tries in eight games – and featuring in Queensland Under-19s’ victory over NSW.

Graduating to the top-grade ranks, Pule was a damaging interchange presence for the Roosters as they reached the semi-finals, winning the club’s Rookie of the Year award.

The young powerhouse grasped her opportunity on the international stage following her New Zealand selection for the World Cup in England, featuring in all five of the Kiwis Ferns’ matches, scoring a try in the semi-final defeat of England and coming off the bench in the loss to Australia in the final.

Pule enjoyed a superb sophomore NRLW, scoring five tries and cementing a second-row spot in the Roosters’ drive to a semi-final appearance, before earning another Kiwi Ferns call-up for the Pacific Championships.

The 20-year-old was a second-row starter in both matches against Australia and the clash with Tonga, getting through plenty of work on both sides of the ball and revelling in the drought-breaking win over the Jillaroos in Melbourne.

Former Australia rugby union rep Shanice Parker earned Kiwi Ferns selection for the Rugby League World Cup at the end of 2022 after NRLW stints with Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights.

WA-born Parker, whose mother, Danielle, was part of the Jillaroos’ 2000 World Cup squad, began her rugby league journey as a Willagee Bears junior in Perth. Trying her hand in the 15-a-side code, she turned out for the NSW Waratahs Super W team on her way to a Wallaroos call-up.

Back in rugby league, Parker played for North Sydney Bears in the NSWRL Women’s Premiership in 2018 and made a solitary NRLW appearance for the Roosters in 2019. The 22-year-old locked down a wing spot for the Tricolours in 2020 and featured in the club’s grand final loss to the Broncos, as well as representing NSW in its State of Origin loss to Queensland.

Parker scored a try in Māori All Stars’ 24-0 win over their Indigenous counterparts in the 2021 pre-season. She was signed by Newcastle Knights for the 2022 NRLW competition and played all seven games at centre or fullback as the club powered to the title, subsequently snaring a place in the New Zealand’s squad to make the World Cup trip to England.

She scored a try on Kiwi Ferns Test debut at centre in the pool win over France and backed up to play fullback in the victory over Cook Islands four days later, but did not feature in subsequent matches at the tournament.

Parker was a key component of the Knights’ drive to a second straight NRLW premiership in 2023, cementing a centre spot and scoring six tries – including a four-pointer in the thrilling grand final win over the Titans.

The dynamic outside back received another Kiwi Ferns call-up for the Pacific Championships, producing an impactful – and versatile – campaign. Parker made 165 metres from 18 runs at centre in the loss to Australia in Townsville, slotted in at fullback in the win over Tonga at Eden Park and was busy on the wing in the stunning victory over the Jillaroos in Melbourne.

Goalkicking forward Brianna Clark received her maiden New Zealand call-up for the World Cup at the end of 2022, after playing for three NRLW clubs and representing Queensland in State of Origin.

Brisbane-born Clark was raised in Sarina in North Queensland and initially concentrated on soccer – moving to the United States during her teenage years to pursue the sport – but earned her rugby league spurs with Mackay Magpies after changing codes at the age of 22. Joining Wests Panthers in Brisbane, Clark represented the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII against Fiji in 2019.

With the Warriors drafting in Australian-based talent for the 2020 NRLW due to COVID-19’s impact, she played two games for the club and came off the bench for the Maroons in the following season’s 8-6 Origin win over the Blues.

Clark was snapped up by Gold Coast Titans for their inaugural NRLW campaign in early-2022; the prop slotted seven goals from eight attempts as her side reached the semi-finals.

After switching to Brisbane Broncos for the NRLW competition played later in 2022, the 27-year-old nabbed a spot on the plane to England for the Kiwi Ferns’ RLWC tilt. Clark was a standout for New Zealand, kicking seven goals across the opening two pool wins against France and Cook Islands despite starting on the bench, coming into the front-row for the group-stage classic against Australia, scoring a try in the semi-final defeat of England and starting the loss to the Jillaroos in the final.

Rugby union convert Mele Hufanga earned a Kiwi Ferns call-up for the Rugby League World Cup at the end of 2022 from Ponsonby Ponies, before attaining NRLW stardom the following season.

A mainstay for the Auckland side in the Farah Palmer Cup, Hufanga represented Counties Manukau in 2020 and the Blues Super Rugby team in 2022.

Proving her adaptability to the 13-a-side code, the hard-running back racked up 30 points (three tries, nine goals) in Tonga’s 66-8 defeat of Niue in a 2020 rugby league Test at Mt Smart Stadium.

Hufanga captained the Tongan rugby union team at the 2022 Oceania Championships, but her performances for the Ponies in the ARL competition later in the year saw the 28-year-old get the nod for New Zealand’s World Cup squad.

She was one of the tournament’s breakout stars. After being named to make her Test debut on the wing against Cook Islands and scored two tries, Hufanga moved to centre for the pool match against Australia and produced a player of the match performance in the semi-final win over England – including a try, running for 185 metres and recording 13 tackle-breaks – before playing in the final loss to the Jillaroos.

Hufanga was subsequently snapped up by Brisbane Broncos for the 2023 NRLW and made a staggering impact in the centres. The barnstorming ball-runner’s tally of 10 tries (second in the competition) in 10 games included an NRLW record-equalling four in a big win over North Queensland. Hufanga also racked up 14 line-breaks, 71 tackle-breaks and averaged 121 metres for the semi-finalists. A place in the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships squad was a formality.

She was one of the stars of the post-season campaign once again, scoring a powerhouse try in the loss to the Jillaroos in Townsville, dotting down against Tonga at Eden Park and scoring again in the sensational defeat of Australia in Melbourne, while averaging 148 running metres and racking up an incredible 32 tackle-breaks.

Clever hooker/half Jeremy Marshall-King’s versatility and consistent performances at NRL level for Canterbury Bulldogs resulted in a Kiwis call-up for the Rugby League World Cup at the end of 2022.

The younger brother of Kiwis icon Benji Marshall, he was born in Whakatane and moved to Sydney at a young age, playing for  All Saints Toongabbie in the Parramatta junior competition. Like his illustrious sibling, Marshall-King received his break at Wests Tigers, turning out for the club at NYC and NSW Cup level before playing one NRL game in the final round of 2017.

Marshall-King signed with the Bulldogs and missed just two NRL games over the next three seasons, featuring predominantly in the halves in 2018 then cementing the No.9 jumper in subsequent campaigns. He represented Māori All Stars alongside Benji in 2021 but injury stymied his progress, restricting Marshall-King to just nine NRL appearances.

The wily playmaker bounced back impressively the following season, however, playing every game for Canterbury and signing a two-year deal with the fledgling Dolphins from 2023. Marshall-King brought up his 100th NRL appearance in the final round of 2022 and followed up being named as the Bulldogs’ Player of the Year by winning selection in the Kiwis’ World Cup squad.

In his maiden outing in the black-and-white jersey, the 26-year-old came off the bench and scored a try in a 74-0 pre-tournament demolition of Leeds Rhinos at Headingley. Marshall-King was an interchange in two matches at the World Cup, making his Test debut against Lebanon and scoring two tries against Jamaica.

Dynamic centre Sebastian Kris became a Kiwis bolter for the Rugby League World Cup at the end of 2022 courtesy of his stellar form in the Canberra Raiders backline.

Kris was born in Brisbane and pulled on the boots as a youngster for Wests Panthers, before moving to Canberra and coming through the juniors at Tuggeranong Valley Dragons.

A proud Torres Strait Islander from the islands of Mabuiag and Saibai, Kris also has South African and New Zealand heritage, and came off the bench to make his NRL debut for the Raiders soon after his 20th birthday in 2019. He made four appearances in the top flight and scored three tries before taking a mental health break from the game in 2020.

Kris returned to cement a centre spot at Canberra in 2021 – crossing for eight tries in 20 games – and went from strength to strength as the Raiders made a late finals surge in 2021, dotting down 14 times in 20 appearances.

The 23-year-old was subsequently chosen in New Zealand’s World Cup squad and scored a first-half hat-trick in his first game in the black-and-white jersey, a 74-0 warm-up victory over Leeds Rhinos at Headingley. Kris made his Test debut on the wing against Jamaica – his only appearance during the tournament – and marked the occasion with a try.

A club-level star in England and Australia, Roxy Murdoch-Masila broke into the New Zealand Test line-up in 2022.

Auckland-born, she moved to Queensland and represented Australia Under-18s in touch rugby and played rugby league for the Runaway Bay club.

After marrying former Wests Tigers and Penrith forward and Tongan Test rep Ben Murdoch-Masila and relocating to England, she played for St Helens in the second Women’s Super League season in 2018, before linking with Warrington Wolves and leading the club to promotion to the Super League. She was also named in the England’s women’s performance squad and initially pledged her allegiance to England for the 2021 RLWC.

Roxy and Ben intended return to New Zealand after the latter joined the Warriors, though the club’s enforced relocation to Australia in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic altered their plans – and the trajectory of Roxy’s rugby league career.

She represented Māori All Stars in the 2021 pre-season and turned out for Central Coast Roosters in the NSWRL Women’s premiership, earning a contract with Sydney Roosters. But the NRLW competition’s postponement until early-2022 – combined with the Warriors’ relocation to Redcliffe – saw Roxy instead join Brisbane Broncos, playing all six of the club’s matches.

The robust forward received a Kiwi Ferns call-up to face Mate Ma’a Tonga midway through 2022, starting in the second-row and scoring a try, making two line-breaks and racking up 90 metres and 22 tackles on debut in a 50-12 victory. Murdoch-Masila subsequently joined Gold Coast Titans and played two matches in the 2022 NRLW premiership, before heading to her former stomping ground in England as part of New Zealand’s World Cup squad.

Murdoch-Masila scored two tries in the Kiwi Ferns’ opening pool match against France and was in the second-row for the group-stage thriller against Australia, the semi-final win over England and the loss to the Jillaroos in the final.

The younger sister of Kiwi Ferns and NRLW superstar Raecene McGregor, centre Page McGregor burst onto the international and premiership scenes in a breakout 2022 season.

Like Raecene, Page was a rugby sevens star in the green and gold, winning gold with Australia at the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2017 and playing for the senior Australian sevens team for the following three years.

Returning to her 13-a-side roots, the Greenacre Tigers junior came off the bench for Māori All Stars against Indigenous All Stars in the 2021 pre-season and was named Wests Tigers’ Player of the Year in that year’s Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership, as well as earning a nomination for the RLPA Players’ Player of the Year gong.

McGregor signed with St George Illawarra for the 2021 NRLW competition (played in early-2022) and played in all seven matches – including the grand final, where the Dragons went down to a Sydney Roosters side steered around by her sibling.

Page subsequently joined Raecene in the Kiwi Ferns line-up for the mid-2022 Test against Tonga, scoring a try and laying on two more on debut in a 50-12 victory at Mt Smart Stadium.

The 23-year-old scored three tries in five games for the Saints in the 2022 NRLW before setting off to England as part of New Zealand’s World Cup squad. McGregor was at centre in all five of the Kiwi Ferns’ matches at the tournament, dotting down for another try in their opening match against France.

Manurewa Marlins product Ngatokotoru Arakua was a Kiwi Ferns debutant in 2017 and became an NRLW pioneer, playing for three clubs in the elite premiership as well as accumulating seven Test appearances.

Cook Islands-born Arakua received her maiden call-up for New Zealand from Papakura Sisters in 2017, debuting off the bench in 16-4 loss to Australia in Canberra 10 days before her 20th birthday.

The front-rower was chosen in the Kiwi Ferns’ World Cup squad later that season, her four outings at the tournament including another interchange appearance in the defeat to the Jillaroos in an epic final at Suncorp Stadium.

Arakua joined Brisbane Broncos for the inaugural NRLW season in 2018, playing all four matches and scoring a try in the grand final victory over Sydney Roosters. She subsequently started at prop in another trans-Tasman classic, the Ferns’ 26-24 loss to the Jillaroos in Auckland.

Arakua linked with St George Illawarra Dragons in 2019 – helping the Saints to the grand final, where they lost to the Broncos. After dabbling in rugby union with Counties Manukau and the Chiefs Super Rugby team in 2020-21, she was snapped up for Newcastle Knights’ NRLW entry in early-2022, playing two matches.

Earning a recall for New Zealand’s Test against Tonga midway through 2022, the 25-year-old started in the second-row in a 50-12 win.

Auckland-based half Laishon Albert-Jones broke into the Kiwi Ferns line-up on the back of her outstanding club and representative form in 2022, before going to achieve NRLW grand final glory as a forward.

Named the 2021 Cathy Friend Player of the Year for her efforts at Richmond Roses and snaring the MVP award at the 2022 NZRL National Women’s competiton, the 24-year-old was chosen to wear the No.6 jumper alongside Raecene McGregor in the Kiwi Ferns’ halves for the mid-2022 Test against Mate Ma’a Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium.

Albert-Jones – the niece of Kiwis Team of the Century halfback Stacey Jones – scored a try, had a try-assist and kicked three goals in a classy all-round debut as New Zealand powered to a 50-12 win.

After helping Point Chevalier Pirates to the Auckland grand final, Albert-Jones set off to England with the Kiwi Ferns World Cups squad and made one appearance at the tournament, lining up at five-eighth in the pool win over Cook Islands.

Albert-Jones linked with defending NRLW champion Newcastle in 2023 and transitioned into the pack, playing in the Knights’ last six games as a starting second-rower as they stormed to another title. She unsurprisingly earned a Kiwis Ferns berth for the Pacific Championships.

Albert-Jones started in the second-row in New Zealand’s loss to Australia in Townsville, while she was an unused 18th player in the victory over the Jillaroos in Townsville.

Invercargill-born three-quarter Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell burst onto the NRLW scene and earned a Kiwi Ferns World Cup call-up as an 18-year-old in 2022.

After playing her junior football for Victorian club Werribee Bears, Ormond-Maunsell impressed in the 2021 QRL Under-19s competition for Burleigh Bears and subsequently signed on with the fledgling Gold Coast Titans women’s side.

The tyro helped the Titans reach the semis at their first attempt in early-2022 with two tries in her first three games – just weeks after her 18th birthday – and was chosen in the Kiwi Ferns’ squad for the mid-season Test against Tonga, though she was not selected in the game-day 17.

Ormond-Maunsell came off the bench in two further games during the NRLW premiership played later in 2022 before joining four Titans teammates on the plane to England for the World Cup. She made her Kiwi Ferns Test debut at centre in a 34-4 pool victory over Cook Islands – her sole appearance at the tournament.

Cross-code star Charlotte Scanlan debuted for New Zealand at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and returned to the Kiwi Ferns setup in 2020 after a six-year absence.

The Richmond and Akarana Falcons forward was first recognised by the national selectors in 2012 when she was chosen in a Kiwi Ferns train-on squad ahead of the following year’s World Cup.

Wellington-born and Feilding-bred, Scanlan featured at prop and second-row in three matches at the 2013 RLWC, scoring a try in the 22-12 loss to Australia in the final.

She retained her spot in the Kiwi Ferns pack for the 2014 victory over the Jillaroos in Wollongong before being snapped up by the NZ Women’s Rugby Sevens team only weeks later.

The Auckland rugby union rep was part of the wider Kiwi Ferns squad ahead of the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines and later spent three seasons playing the 15-a-side game in Yokohama, Japan, but returned home – and to rugby league – in 2020.

After playing all four games in Akarana Falcons’ Sky Sports NZRL National Women’s Premiership campaign, Scanlan received a Kiwi Ferns recall at lock for the end-of-season clash with Fetu Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium, where she was one of the standouts in a 28-8 victory.

“The culture within the team is really growing,” Scanlan told NZ Herald following her return to the black-and-white jersey.

“Chucking a bunch of girls together into one team, you never really know what’s going to happen, but we really gelled. To be the only country that gets to do it, it’s an honour and we’re so thankful to be from a country like New Zealand.”

Scanlan was part of the large Kiwi Ferns contingent recruited for Newcastle Knights’ inaugural NRLW campaign – initially postponed and played in February-March 2022 – and played all five of the club’s matches before returning to New Zealand, where she made a typically hardworking contribution off the bench in the 50-12 mid-season Test defeat of Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium.

The 34-year-old played in Point Chevalier Pirates’ 2022 Auckland grand final loss to Manurewa Marlins before being selected for the end-of-year World Cup in England – one of only two survivors from the 2013 tournament in the Old Dart (with Amber Hall). Scanlan featured in three matches: the pool wins over France and Cook Islands, and the semi-final defeat of England.

Centre Amy Turner’s varied and successful sporting career at the elite level eventually steered her to a Kiwi Ferns debut in 2022 at the age of 38.

Gaining a rugby league grounding as a junior in her hometown of Tokoroa, Turner represented Midlands and Waikato in rugby union, New Zealand Māori in rugby sevens and New Zealand in touch rugby, before moving to Australia.

She broke into the Australian rugby sevens team and earned a gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 before returning to rugby league, turning out for Wests Panthers in Brisbane and coming off the bench for Queensland in the 2019 State of Origin match.

Turner attracted the interest of defending NRLW premiers Brisbane Broncos in 2019 and featured at centre as the club carved out a second straight grand final victory.

Following a maternity break in 2020, Turner scored a try in Māori All Stars’ defeat of Indigenous All Stars in early-2021. She played all six matches of the Broncos’ delayed 2021 NRLW campaign (played in early-2022) to receive a New Zealand call-up for the mid-2022 Test against Tonga.

Turner scored a try and made two line-breaks on debut as the Kiwi Ferns powered to a 50-12 win at Mt Smart Stadium. After again featuring for the Broncos in the 2022 NRLW, the veteran athlete was named in New Zealand’s squad for the England-hosted Rugby League World Cup.

Waikato product Te Maire Martin debuted for New Zealand at the end of his 2016 NRL rookie year, while he returned to Kiwis reckoning after a four-year absence following a remarkable, courageous comeback to the elite level in the wake of a career-threatening condition.

Born in Tokoroa and playing junior football Turangawaewae, Martin followed the well-worn path of promising Kiwis such as Benji Marshall to Keebra Park State High School on the Gold Coast and then onto Wests Tigers, where he earned consecutive NYC Team of the Year nods in 2014-15 and represented Junior Kiwis in both years.

The hot playmaking prospect was snapped up by Penrith and made his NRL debut as an 18-year-old in early-2016, memorably slotting the match-winning field goal against Brisbane. A shoulder injury snuffed out his campaign after just six games but he was nevertheless chosen in New Zealand’s Four Nations squad, making his Test bow in an 18-all draw with Scotland.

Martin switched to North Queensland midway through 2017 after an injury rubbed out superstar half Johnathan Thurston. He played an integral role alongside Michael Morgan in the Cowboys’ amazing run from eighth place to the grand final and scored his side’s only try in the 34-6 loss to Melbourne Storm in the decider.

The elusive, skilful ball-player scored a hat-trick from five-eighth in New Zealand’s World Cup demolition of Scotland and wore the No.6 jersey again as the Kiwis were bundled out of the tournament by Fiji in the quarter-finals. He also featured in the halves in the mid-2018 Test loss to England in Denver.

Despite the presence of Thurston and Morgan, Martin missed just one NRL game in 2018, regularly slotting in at fullback or as a bench utility. But after small bleed on his brain was detected during the 2019 season, he was sidelined indefinitely and announced his retirement in January 2020.

Martin returned to the field in 2021, however, turning out for Waikato Mana in the NZRL National Competition and subsequently picking up a deal with Brisbane Broncos for 2022. In an inspirational return, the 26-year-old was superb for the improving Broncos in 13 top-grade games at fullback, impressing sufficiently to receive a wider squad call-up for the Kiwis’ mid-season Test against Tonga (he was not selected in the gameday 17) and secure a three-year contract with the Warriors from 2023.

Carrying one of the most famous of all Kiwi surnames, Scott Sorensen followed in the footsteps of grandfather Bill, an outstanding five-eighth in the 1950s, and uncles Dane and Kurt, 1970s and ’80s engine-room stars, by earning a spot in New Zealand’s 2022 World Cup squad.

It was a long and winding journey to a Kiwis call-up for the Sydney-born, Cronulla-Caringbah junior, however.

After coming through Cronulla’s NYC and NSW Cup ranks, Sorensen made his NRL debut for the Sharks as a 21-year-old in 2014. He was signed by South Sydney but was unable to force his way into first grade at the club and did not resurface in the NRL until making two appearances for Canberra in 2017.

The strapping back-rower enjoyed a breakout year in 2018 after returning to Cronulla, playing 15 games in the top flight and winning selection in Tonga’s squad for the post-season Tests (though he did not play a match).

Sorensen managed just five NRL games in 2019 but won a NSW Cup grand final with Newtown Jets, while he regained a regular first-grade berth at the Sharks in 2020 to pique the interest of high-flying Penrith.

He forced his way into the Panthers’ 17 in May 2021 and stayed there, playing 19 consecutive games – culminating in an interchange role in their 14-12 NRL grand final triumph over the Rabbitohs.

Sorensen was named in New Zealand’s wider squad for the mid-2022 Test against Tonga but did not make the gameday 17. The 29-year-old continued to solidify his reputation, however, cementing his place at Penrith as the club steamed to the minor premiership and another grand final, where Sorensen scored a try (just his fourth in 82 NRL games) in an emphatic 28-12 against Parramatta before being named in the Kiwis’ World Cup squad.

He made his Test debut off the bench in the pool win over Jamaica, Sorensen’s only appearance at the tournament.

Cronulla Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo took an unusual path to the Kiwis jersey, but he nevertheless made an immediate impact after earning his initial call-up 2022.

Auckland-born Mulitalo turned out for Ellerslie Eagles as a junior before moving to Queensland as a 13-year-old and emerging through the grades at Ipswich Jets. The promising flyer was snapped up by Cronulla and represented Queensland Under-18s in 2017.

The 19-year-old received an NRL debut for the Sharks in 2019 and finished the year with five tries in eight games, while he made a tryscoring entry to international football in Samoa’s loss to Fiji at Eden Park. He cemented a spot on the flank with 12 touchdowns in 16 appearances in 2020.

Mulitalo became embroiled in an eligibility controversy in 2021 after being selected in Queensland’s State of Origin team. After joining the squad he was ruled ineligible as he did not live in the state before turning 13. Also breaking his jaw during the latter NRL rounds, Mulitalo capped a rollercoaster year by winning the Ken Stephen Medal for services to the community.

Resetting his sights on representing his country of birth, Mulitalo flourished out wide for a burgeoning Cronulla combination in 2022, scoring 17 tries (equal-third in the NRL) as the club powered to a top-four finish.

The 22-year-old was chosen in New Zealand’s mid-season Test squad to take on Tonga in Auckland, scoring a try, making two line-breaks and running for 147 metres in a stellar debut as the Kiwis prevailed 26-6. Flamboyant flyer Mulitalo went away to the World Cup widely regarded as arguably New Zealand’s No.1 winger and scored tries in the group-stage win over Ireland and quarter-final escape against Fiji, before producing a brilliant display in the Kiwis’ gallant semi-final exit at the hands of Australia.

Mulitalo’s tryscoring excellence went up another level in 2023, scoring 21 times in 23 appearances for the sixth-placed Sharks – fourth in the NRL and just one short of the Cronulla club record.

He was one of only two specialist wingers chosen in the Kiwis’ Pacific Championship squad and enjoyed a spectacular post-season campaign. After notching a second-half double and three line-breaks against Samoa, Mulitalo scored in both matches against Australia. The flamboyant flyer was sensational in the 30-0 rout of the Kangaroos in the final, producing a succession of big plays on both sides of the ball.

Ultra-versatile back Peta Hiku’s New Zealand Test career has spanned nine seasons, while he has represented the Kiwis from four different clubs during a colourful NRL and Super League career.

The Manurewa Marlins product starred for the Warriors’ NYC team in 2012 and represented the Junior Kiwis, before being snapped up by Manly. In a fine rookie season, he featured at wing, fullback and centre for the heavyweight Sea Eagles but missed the club’s grand final appearance.

A New Zealand debut followed after just 20 NRL outings, playing fullback in the spirited 2014 Anzac Test loss in Sydney. Hiku retained the No.1 jersey throughout the end-of-year Four Nations tournament and played an impressive role in the Kiwis’ triumph.

With Roger Tuivasa-Sheck emerging as one of the game’s best fullbacks, Hiku shifted to centre for the momentous 2015 Anzac Test win in Brisbane, while he showed his adaptability again on the post-season tour of England by playing five-eighth in all three Tests.

Hiku linked with Penrith in 2016 but only managed 20 games for the club, joining Warrington midway through 2017 and scoring 10 tries in 11 Super League appearances. That tryscoring hot streak continued in his only outing at the 2017 World Cup, crossing for a hat-trick in the Kiwis’ 74-6 defeat of Scotland in Christchurch.

Snapped up by the Warriors, Hiku found the backline competition stiff in the Kiwis’ ranks and the Denver Test against England was his only game for his country in 2018-19. He was one of the Warriors’ best during their arduous, COVID-stricken 2020 campaign but injury restricted him to just 10 games in 2021.

Hiku was lured to North Queensland and the veteran enjoyed arguably a career-best season in the centres as the Cowboys stormed to a top-four finish and a preliminary final appearance, playing all 26 games. Meanwhile, four years and one day after his last appearance for the Kiwis, Hiku produced a strong 108-metre display in the mid-2022 win over Tonga at his hold Mt Smart stomping ground and headed to the World Cup as a key figure for Michael Maguire’s side.

The 29-year-old featured in all five of the Kiwis’ games at the tournament and scored four tries – including a double against Ireland.

An instinctive and elusive ball-runner with 58 NRL tries to his credit, Hiku’s slick ball skills and peerless ability to create space for his supports has garnered 48 try-assists in 179 games in the premiership.

 

A quiet achiever in Penrith Panthers’ ranks for several seasons, bruising prop Moses Leota eventually developed into a vital cog in a triple premiership-winning combination and, belatedly, a New Zealand Test debutant less than a month before his 27th birthday.

Born in Auckland, Leota moved to Sydney as a 13-year-old and climbed through the grades in the Penrith juniors. He was a member of the Panthers’ 2015 NYC title-winning side – alongside the likes of future first grade and Test teammate James Fisher-Harris – and earned his NRL spurs midway through 2016.

Leota featured in the Panthers’ 2017-18 finals campaigns and represented Samoa for the first time after playing all 24 of the club’s matches in 2019.

The rugged forward has been a permanent fixture during Penrith’s dominant run that began with a minor premiership and grand final appearance in 2020, celebrating in back-to-back grand final triumphs in 2021-22 as a front-row starter with Fisher-Harris.

Leota also received a Kiwis call-up in 2022 for the midseason Test against Tonga, churning through 128 metres from 11 carries in the 26-6 victory, and the veteran of 123 NRL games’ selection in the World Cup squad at the end of the season was no surprise. He started in the big pool win over Jamaica and came off the bench in the valiant semi-final loss to Australia.

Hulking Leota’s value to Penrith only increased in 2023, playing a career-high 26 games in a stellar campaign and backing up Nathan Cleary to score the try that sparked an astonishing second-half comeback in the grand final victory over Brisbane.

He was an automatic selection alongside JFH to spearhead the Kiwis’ Pacific Championships foray, starting all three Tests in the front-row alongside the new skipper. Leota was especially prominent in the final as the New Zealand pack dominated their Australian counterparts in a record-breaking 30-0 triumph.

Making a name for himself as an imposing – and versatile – back-rower at Parramatta, Marata Niukore made his New Zealand Test debut at centre during a career-best 2022 season.

Howick Hornets junior Niukore was a standout for the Warriors’ NYC team, representing Junior Kiwis in 2015-16 and Cook Islands in 2017. He was signed by the Eels and gained a solid NSW Cup grounding with Wentworthville Magpies before receiving his first NRL call-up midway through 2018 and playing 14 games in his rookie campaign.

A first-grade regular ever since, Niukore featured in Parrmatta’s 2019-21 finals campaigns and showed an impressive ability to slot into the backline, despite his hulking 105kg frame ideally suited to the pack. He represented Cook Islands again in 2019, helping the island nation qualify for the World Cup.

Injury hampered Niukore during the first half of 2022 but limited football did not deter Kiwis coach Michael Maguire from calling him up as a centre for the mid-season Test against Tonga. The debutant proved a handful in the 26-6 win at Mt Smart Stadium, running for 108 metres.

Niukore reverted to a middle-forward role for the Eels as the 2022 campaign wore on and featured prominently in their playoffs campaign, which culminated in the club’s first grand final appearance in 13 years and a loss to the Panthers in the decider. The 26-year-old tempered the disappointment of that loss with a spot aboard the plane to England for New Zealand’s World Cup foray.

The 26-year-old was limited by injuries at the tournament, making just two appearances – off the bench against Lebanon and a tryscoring effort at centre against Jamaica – before heading home to link with the Warriors ahead of the 2023 NRL season.

Carrying on the fine tradition of forwards to come out of the Canterbury region, athletic back-rower Jordan Riki rose to the cusp of Kiwis Test selection after building an impressive reputation in the Brisbane Broncos’ pack.

Born in Raglan, Riki came through Hornby Panthers’ ranks in Christchurch before venturing to Brisbane and impressing in the Hastings Deering Colts under-20s and Queensland Cup competitions for Norths Devils, as well as captaining Junior Kiwis against Australian Schoolboys in 2019.

Riki’s potential was recognised when he was chosen for Māori in early-2020 before he had made his NRL debut, which eventually came midway through the season for the 20-year-old. He played five games for the Broncos in 2020 before establishing a regular second-row berth the following season.

The strapping tyro continued to progress in 2022, scoring four tries in 22 games for Brisbane and earning a spot in New Zealand’s wider squad for the midyear Test against Tonga. Riki missed a place in the match-day 17 and the Kiwis’ World Cup squad in the face of fierce competition, but he looms as a Test contender in coming seasons.

Something of a late-bloomer, game-breaking winger Jordan Rapana became one of Canberra Raiders’ finest servants of the past decade and a New Zealand Test debutant at the age of 27.

Wellington-born Rapana moved to Gold Coast as a 10-year-old came through the grades at Tugun Seahawks as well as attending famed rugby league nursery Palm Beach Currumbin High School.

A star of Gold Coast Titans’ under-20s in the inaugural NYC competition in 2008, Rapana made his NRL debut that year at just 17 years of age and scored five tries in five top-grade games. He also represented New Zealand Māori at the end of the year in a World Cup curtain-raiser against an Indigenous Australian team.

Rapana put his career on hold to embark on a Mormon mission, returning to the professional sporting ranks with Super Rugby side Western Force in 2012. He shifted to Canberra the following year, playing for Queanbeyan Blues in the local competition and earning a contract with the Raiders, before playing for Cook Islands at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

Returning to the NRL after a six-year absence in 2014, Rapana cemented a top-grade spot the following season on the wing (while also filling in at fullback and centre). He exploded for the burgeoning Raiders in 2016, however, scoring a club-record 23 tries as the club reached its first preliminary final since 1997. Rapana subsequently earned selection in the Kiwis’ Four Nations squad, making his international bow in a pre-tournament Test against Australia in Perth then scoring two tries against England and another four-pointer in the round-robin clash with the Kangaroos.

Dally M Winger of the Year in 2017 after scoring 21 tries – despite Canberra’s slide down the ladder – Rapana featured in that year’s Anzac Test and in three matches of the Kiwis’ World Cup campaign, crossing for tries against Samoa and Tonga.

In 2018, he scored a try in New Zealand’s momentous post-season victory over Australia at Mt Smart Stadium and played in two Tests abroad against England.

The dynamic and aggressive Rapana added a huge dollop of X-factor to the Raiders’ drive to the 2019 grand final but joined Japanese rugby union outfit Panasonic Wild Knights. COVID-19’s impact on the Japanese rugby competition saw Rapana return to the Raiders during 2020, however, and he regained a backline spot predominantly on the flank, but again filling in at centre and fullback over the ensuing two seasons.

The veteran debuted for Māori All Stars in the 2022 pre-season and won a Kiwis recall for the midyear Test against Tonga in Auckland, scoring a try and kicking five goals from as many attempts in the 26-6 win.

The 33-year-old advanced his NRL record to 94 tries in 180 games by the end of 2022 before heading to England as a senior member of New Zealand’s World Cup assault, where he the Kiwis’ scoring charts with 44 points from four tries and 14 goals from 18 shots in four matches. Rapana managed a 14-point haul against Lebanon and scored two tries against Ireland, while he bagged another try and booted a crucial go-ahead penalty goal late in the streaky quarter-final win over Fiji.

Northland product Dylan Brown became recognised as one of the NRL’s premier five-eighths at Parramatta before making his Test debut in 2022 as New Zealand returned to the international arena for the first time in three years.

Auckland-born Brown was a Hikurangi Stags junior but moved to Sydney aged 15, attending renowned rugby league breeding ground Hills Sports High School and moving through the Eels’ ranks. He steered Parramatta’s SG Ball to a title in 2017 and featured in the club’s NYC grand final loss to Manly later that year, while injury forced him to withdraw from the Australian Schoolboys squad.

After playing Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup the following season, Brown made his NRL debut in the opening round of 2019 aged just 18 and was hailed as one of the game’s hottest playmaking properties. His rookie campaign was interrupted by injury but he nevertheless made 15 appearances – including two finals matches.

A classy ball-player with an incisive running game and rock-solid defence, Brown continued to developed for the high-flying Eels in 2020-21, passing his 50-game milestone in the NRL soon after his 21st birthday and playing in two further finals campaigns.

The prodigiously talented tyro’s inevitable ascent to Kiwis status was delayed by COVID-19, but he was virtually an automatic choice to debut in the mid-2022 Test against Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium. Brown had a blinder in his maiden international outing, producing two try-assists as well as racking up 94 metres and 27 tackles in a 26-6 victory.

Brown was an integral component of Parramatta’s drive to its first grand final in 13 years, playing all 28 games in a campaign that ultimately ended in defeat to Penrith in the decider. Two major career milestones ticked off in the previous few months, he headed to England as one of the Kiwis’ World Cup spearheads.

The 22-year-old featured in four matches at the tournament, scoring his first Test try against Lebanon and dotting down again in a sizzling individual performance in the valiant semi-final loss to Australia as a decade-long tenure in the New Zealand line-up beckoned.

A suspension for an off-field incident restricted Brown to 17 NRL appearances during the Eels’ disappointing follow-up campaign in 2023, but he returned at the back-end of the season to shape as a vital cog in the Kiwis’ Pacific Championship campaign.

Brown revelled in the international arena once again, running for 193 metres in the 50-0 win over Samoa and bouncing back from unwarranted criticism from the Australian media in the wake of the Kiwis’ 36-18 loss to Australia in Melbourne, setting up two tries and running for 129 metres in a 30-0 pasting of the Kangaroos in the final.

 

Teenage front-rower Mya Terehia Hill-Moana made her Kiwi Ferns debut against Fetu Samoa during a whirlwind 2020 season.

Huntly-born Hill-Moana began the year playing for Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs’ Under 18s team in the Tarsha Gale Cup, before the competition was halted by COVID-19 in mid-March.

A member of the Auckland Under-18s competition-winning Taniwharau side in 2019, Hill-Moana returned to New Zealand and played a key role in Upper Central Stallions’ triumph in the NZRL National Women’s Championship.

She was named player of the match as the Stallions edged Auckland Vulcans in the Championship final.

Hill-Moana won an interchange spot in the Kiwi Ferns’ line-up and impressed on debut with the 18-year-old’s strong runs and work-rate in the 28-8 win over Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium.

After representing Māori All Stars in the 2021 and ’22 pre-season matches against Indigenous All Stars, Hill-Moana made her NRLW debut for Sydney Roosters and cemented a front-row spot – culminating in a premiership winner’s ring in April 2022 as part of the club’s line-up that defeated St George Illawarra in the grand final. She was an engine-room mainstay for the Roosters in the NRLW competition played later in 2022, where the Roosters’ campaign ended in the semi-finals.

Hill-Moana was a front-row starter in the Kiwi Ferns’ mid-2022 Test against Mate Ma’a Tonga – only a month after her 20th birthday – and racked up 12 runs for 106 metres and 15 tackles in the 50-12 victory, with a World Cup berth at the end of the season coming as no surprise for the impressive tyro. She featured in all five of New Zealand’s matches at the tournament, coming off the bench in the semi-final win over England and the heavy final loss to Australia.

The tyro backed up for the Roosters again in the expanded 2023 NRLW premiership, featuring in eight of their 10 games – including the semi-final loss to the Titans – and averaged 91 metres and 14 tackles per game to earn another Kiwi Ferns call-up for the Pacific Championships.

Hill-Moana played all three of New Zealand’s matches in the post-season campaign, including the drought-breaking win over Australia in Melbourne.

Te Atatu Roosters flyer Katelyn Vaha’akolo was in the thick of the action on Test debut as the Kiwi Ferns defeated Fetu Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium in November 2020.

A prominent social media influencer in the health and lifestyle sphere and also a talented netballer, Vaha’akolo was named on the flank to take on Samoa and threw the last pass for retiring Kiwi Ferns legend’s Honey Hireme-Smiler’s ninth-minute try.

Vaha’akolo backed up a break from fellow debutant Autumn Stephens-Daly to blaze away for a try of her own in the opening minute of the second half.

The young winger’s campaign for Akarana Falcons in the inaugural Sky Sports NZRL National Women’s Premiership included a stunning 80-metre solo try against Mid Central, contributing to her call-up to the New Zealand squad.

Vaha’akolo represented Māori All Stars against Indigenous All Stars in early-2022 before playing all five games of Newcastle Knights’ inaugural NRLW campaign.

Returning to Auckland, the 22-year-old scored two tries in the Kiwi Ferns’ 50-12 victory over Mate Ma’a Tonga and featured at fullback in Point Chevalier Pirates’ 2022 Auckland grand final loss, before setting off for England as part of New Zealand’s World Cup squad.

Vaha’akolo bagged another double in the Kiwi Ferns’ opening pool win over France and was on the wing for the group-stage thriller against Australia and semi-final win over England but missed the final.

In 2020 Christyl Stowers added a Kiwi Ferns debut to her list of achievements, following on from several highly successful seasons at club and representative level.

A powerful middle forward also capable of playing in the backline, Stowers featured in Manurewa Marlins’ 2017-18 Auckland grand final victories over Richmond Roses.

Stowers represented the Māori All Stars against Indigenous All Stars in 2019 and ’20, before helping Counties Manukau Stingrays to glory in the inaugural Sky Sports NZRL National Women’s Premiership in the latter year.

Selected alongside six of her Stingrays teammates in the New Zealand squad for the end-of-season clash with Fetu Samoa, the 28-year-old worked hard on both sides of the ball after coming off the bench in Kiwi Ferns’ 28-8 victory.

Stowers was retained for New Zealand’s mid-2022 Test against Tonga, making four powerful runs and racking up 20 tackles in 27 minutes off the bench of a 50-12 win at Mt Smart Stadium. After featuring in the Marlins’ grand final win, she was one of seven New Zealand-based players named in the Kiwi Ferns’ squad for the World Cup in England.

She came off the bench in three matches at the tournament, including the nail-biting pool-stage loss to Australia and the heavy defeat at the hands of the Jillaroos in the final.

Halfback Karli Hansen needed just 90 seconds of her Kiwi Ferns Test debut to put her talent and array of skills on display.

The Te Atatu Roosters playmaker starred for Akarana Falcons in the inaugural Sky Sports NZRL National Women’s Premiership in 2020 to earn a maiden international call-up for the Kiwi Ferns’ clash with Fetu Samoa.

Putting a chip kick through in the early stages of the Mt Smart Stadium encounter, Hansen raced through after the ball deflected off the upright and dotted down for a try – a dream introduction to the Test arena by any standards.

Hansen also had a hand in two more tries, slotted two conversions, kicked superbly in general play and combined well with halves partner and fellow first-timer Autumn Stephens-Daly (including producing a classy short ball to help set up the five-eighth’s first try) in New Zealand’s convincing victory, before leaving the field with a knee injury during the second half.

Relocating to Australia, Hansen turned out for Tweed Heads Seagulls in the 2022 QRL Women’s Premiership and was part of the fledgling Gold Coast Titans’ but is yet to make her NRLW debut. Hansen was the unused 18th player in the Kiwi Ferns’ mid-2022 win over Mate Ma’a Tonga, a role she also filled during the end-of-year World Cup, where she ultimately did not add to her Test match tally.

A key member of title-winning club and representative teams for several seasons, Kararaina Wira-Kohu earned her Kiwi Ferns spurs against Fetu Samoa in 2020.

The front-rower moved from Papakura Sisters to Manurewa Marlins in 2017, also playing for Northern Swords that season, before earning a spot in the Māori All Stars’ side that defeated Indigenous All Stars in early-2019.

Returning to Papakura, Whangarei-based Wira-Kohu was named player of the 2019 ARL grand final after landed the match-winning conversion from sideline as the Sisters edged Richmond Roses 6-4. The former Counties Manukau rugby union rep featured in the Stingrays’ women’s nationals success and Ngāti Umutahi’s Māori rugby league nationals victory, then represented Northland Kauri in the rugby union Farah Palmer Cup, following in the footsteps of her mother, 1991 Northland rep Mary Wira.

Wira-Kohu turned out for the Māori All Stars again at the start of 2020 and was the MVP of Counties Manukau’s Sky Sports NZRL National Women’s Premiership final win over Akarana.

Starting up front alongside Papakura and Counties Manukau teammate Harata Butler, the 28-year-old Wira-Kohu was an imposing presence on debut in the Kiwi Ferns’ 28-8 win over Fetu Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium.

Wira-Kohu was part of the extensive Kiwi contingent in Newcastle Knights’ inaugural NRLW squad, making her sole appearance for the club off the bench in a loss to St George Illawarra in early-2022. She retained a spot in the Kiwi Ferns’ subsequent 50-12 win over Mate Ma’a Tonga in Auckland and produced a barnstorming 34-minute interchange display, scoring a try, making three line-breaks and chewing off 155 metres from 13 carries.

After featuring in Manurewa Marlins’ Auckland grand final victory, Wira-Kohu was due to head to England with New Zealand’s World Cup squad at the end of 2022 but a calf injury suffered just before the team departed forced her out of the tournament.

Bay of Plenty rugby union convert Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly enjoyed a meteoric rise after switching to rugby league in 2020, stealing the show on Kiwi Ferns debut against Fetu Samoa.

The Sevens and 15s rugby star won selection in a new-look New Zealand squad after an outstanding campaign in Upper Central Stallions’ triumph in the inaugural NZRL National Women’s Championship, where she featured at fullback.

Selected at five-eighth for the Kiwi Ferns, Rotorua product Stephens-Daly dazzling debut in the 28-8 win over Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium included: having a key hand in an early try for retiring great Honey Hireme-Smiler; scoring a blistering 50-metre try of her own; setting up winger and fellow debutant Katelyn Vaha’akolo for a four-pointer with another long run; and picked up a loose ball to complete her double during the second half.

After signing on for fledgling NRLW club Newcastle Knights ahead of the delayed 2021 premiership, Stephens-Daly scored both of Māori All Stars’ tries in their 18-8 loss to Indigenous All Stars in the 2022 pre-season. She subsequently played eight of the Knights’ 12 games during the two NRLW competitions run in 2022 – including five appearances on the wing – but did not feature in their grand final side in October.

Stephens-Daly put her versatility on show for the Kiwi Ferns courtesy of a starring role at fullback in the mid-2022 Test against Tonga, recording two line-breaks, two line-break assists, a try-assist and 182 metres in the 50-12 win at Mt Smart Stadium. The 26-year-old’s ability to cover several positions stamped her as a valuable member of New Zealand’s squad for the World Cup in England and she started at five-eighth in the pool win over France, scored a try from the wing in the nail-biting group-stage loss to Australia and played on the flank again in the loss to the Jillaroos in the final.

Rugged forward Amber Hall was a teenage Kiwis Ferns debutant in 2013, while she earned a Test recall after a six-year absence and an NRLW grand final winner’s ring in 2019.

Just 17 when she was named in New Zealand’s train-on squad in 2012 (no games were played that year), Hall featured in the Kiwi Ferns’ Rugby League World Cup campaign the following season. Hall played in Richmond Roses’ 2017 and ’19 ARL grand final losses. But she enjoyed a representative renaissance in the latter season, recalled at prop for the Kiwi Ferns’ mid-season
victory over Fetu Samoa. Hall carted the ball up for 112 metres (including a game-high 39 post-contact metres) in the 46-8 win.

After playing for Auckland in a trial match against the Warriors women’s team in August, Hall was snapped up by defending champion Brisbane for the 2019 NRLW campaign. She scored a try in the season-opening win over St George Illawarra and produced a powerhouse performance to stifle the Dragons in the grand final, racking up 130 metres as the Broncos sealed back-to-back
premierships with a 30-6 result.

Hall ran out against several of her Broncos teammates in the Kiwi Ferns’ 28-8 loss to the Jillaroos in Wollongong, capping a stunning year of achievement for the engine-room workhorse.

The barnstorming back-rower was even more dominant during the 2020 NRLW campaign, averaging 132 metres and 18 tackles per game, and scoring a try in the Broncos’ grand final victory over the Roosters.

Veteran Hall played all 11 games for the Broncos across the two NRLW premierships played during 2022. The 27-year-old was one of just two survivors from the England-hosted 2013 World Cup selected for the Kiwi Ferns’ run at the title in Britain at the end of 2022. She was a second-row mainstay – and one of New Zealand’s best – at the tournament, featuring in all five matches and scoring tries against France and Cook Islands. Hall’s superb performances earned her a nomination for the Golden Boot award ultimately won by teammate Raecene McGregor.

Playmaker Raecene McGregor has made an enormous impact in the Kiwi Ferns jersey since debuting in 2017 – as well as at NRLW level, developing into one of the ground-breaking competition’s most influential players.

Sydney-born to New Zealander parents, McGregor is a genuine sporting all-rounder, representing NSW and Australia in soccer, touch rugby and Rugby Sevens.

But after linking up with an Australia-based Kiwi Ferns training squad, the 20-year-old was invited to New Zealand for a trial and won selection for the Rugby League World Cup. McGregor was one of the breakout stars at the tournament, scoring two tries on debut against Cook Islands, and dotting down versus Papua New Guinea (playing at fullback) and against Australia in the final after unseating Georgia Hale for the No.6.

McGregor’s stunning cut-out pass to send Honey Hireme over for the Kiwi Ferns’ first try in the decider will live long in the memory.

The Cabramatta Two Blues star earned an NRLW contract with St George Illawarra for the historic 2018 competition, playing all three of the Dragons’ games. She featured in the subsequent 26-24
Test loss to the Jillaroos in Auckland.

McGregor produced a try and a try-assist as well as running for 95 metres in a standout showing at halfback as New Zealand defeated Samoa midway through 2019. Snapped up by Brisbane for the
second NRLW premiership, she then partnered Jillaroos gun Ali Brigginshaw in the halves as the Broncos powered to back-to-back grand final victories.

Less than a week before her 22 nd birthday, the burgeoning ball-player was named Player of the Tournament after the Kiwi Ferns’ sensational World Cup Nines triumph. She scored the opening try and kicked two goals in the epic 17-15 win over the Jillaroos in the final.

McGregor donned the No.7 again as New Zealand suffered a 28-8 Test loss to Australia in Wollongong a week later.

A standout in Māori All Stars’ loss to Indigenous All Stars during the 2020 pre-season, McGregor switched to Wests Tigers for the NSW Women’s Premiership and helped steer the Broncos to another NRLW title.

The accolades continued to roll in for McGregor as she was named Player of the Match in Māori All Stars’ 2021 victory over their Indigenous counterparts, while the brilliant ball-player was a huge acquisition for Sydney Roosters ahead of the twin NRLW premierships played during 2022. McGregor was the No.7 linchpin as the Roosters snared their maiden title in April, while she claimed the Dally M Medal in the August-September competition that ultimately saw the Tricolours upset in the semi.

McGregor scored a try and had a try-assist in New Zealand’s mid-2022 win over Tonga in Auckland – a Test that also saw her sister, Page, debut – and went to England at the end of the year as one of the Kiwi Ferns squad’s genuine World Cup headliners.

The brilliant ball-player played in all five matches of New Zealand’s campaign in England, scoring two tries against Cook Islands and dotting down again in the semi-final victory over the hosts. McGregor tempered the disappointing of the Kiwi Ferns’ 54-4 loss to the Jillaroos in the final by becoming New Zealand’s first female winner of the IRL Golden Boot award.

McGregor rejoined St George Illawara in 2023 and captained the club in all nine games of its campaign, kicking 14 goals and earning a top-10 finish in the NRLW Dally M Medal count.

The 25-year-old was an automatic pick for the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships squad and was named co-captain. McGregor set up a try in the first-up loss to Australia, two in the win over Tonga and was typcially influential in the momentous win over the Jillaroos in Melbourne. Her fifth and last goal of the series was a booming conversion from the sideline that helped the Kiwi Ferns to a 12-6 triumph.

Nita Maynard’s first major impression on the sporting landscape was in the green and gold of the Australian rugby union side. But the diminutive livewire wasted little time in snaring a black-and-white jumper after switching codes in 2017.

The NSW star played six Tests for the Wallaroos and also represented the Australian Sevens team. Gisborne-born Maynard’s efforts for the Cronulla Sharks in 2017 were enough to secure a place in the Kiwi Ferns’ Rugby League World Cup squad. She nailed down the No.14 spot – providing hooker and halves coverage – and featured in the valiant loss to the Jillaroos in the final.

Maynard earned a contract with Sydney Roosters for the inaugural 2018 NRLW premiership, playing all four games for the eventual runners-up. She then started at hooker in New Zealand’s 26-24 loss to Australia in Auckland.

With Krystal Rota back in the No.9, Maynard reverted to the bench for the Ferns’ mid-2019 clash with Fetu Samoa. But she starred in 50 minutes of game-time, racking up 97 metres and 22 tackles as well as scoring a try.

The 27-year-old started all three matches at hooker for the Roosters in the 2019 NRLW – averaging 38 tackles – before scoring the match-winning try in the Kiwi Ferns’ upset of the Jillaroos in the World Cup Nines final. Maynard made a busy 15-minute contribution off the bench in the subsequent Test loss to Australia in Wollongong.

Maynard backed up for a third NRLW Premiership campaign with the Roosters in 2020, again lining up at hooker in each of the club’s matches – including the grand final loss to the Broncos.

After representing Māori All Stars against Indigenous All Stars in the 2021 and ’22 pre-seasons, Maynard played four of fledgling Parramatta Eels’ 2021 NRLW premiership (played in early-2022) matches then linked with Brisbane for the 2022 premiership, featuring in three fixtures.

Maynard played her ninth Test for the Kiwi Ferns midway through 2022 – playing 52 minutes off the bench and scoring the last try of a 50-12 victory over Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium – before setting off to England as part of New Zealand’s World Cup squad. The versatile veteran featured in an interchange utility role in all five of the Kiwi Ferns’ matches at the tournament, where they again came up short against the Jillaroos in the final.

Hardworking, prolific tryscoring winger Madison Bartlett courageously battled back from a wretched run with injury to make her Test and NRLW debuts in 2019.

Hailing from Wairoa, Bartlett is a sporting all-rounder – representing North Harbour in Sevens Rugby and basketball, as well as playing for New Zealand in tough rugby and tag at international level – who began playing rugby league in 2016.

But a succession of shoulder dislocations, followed by surgery on both shoulders in 2018, halted her progress.

Bartlett returned to the field in 2019, however, featuring in Richmond Roses’ loss in the Auckland club grand final before winning Kiwi Ferns selection on the flank for the mid-season clash with Fetu Samoa. She scored a second-half try and racked up two line-breaks, a try-assist and 82 running metres in a 46-8 win.

The 24-year-old played two matches of the Warriors’ 2019 NRLW campaign, debuting in the 16-12 Round 1 win over the Roosters and scoring a try in the 10-8 upset of the Broncos in Round 3. Bartlett was subsequently selected in New Zealand’s World Cup Nines squad and played in the classic final victory over Australia.

One of the few New Zealand-based players to venture to Australia for the 2020 NRLW premiership, Bartlett played all three of the Warriors’ game on the wing and bagged a try in an impressive display as they toppled the Dragons. Bartlett was one of four NRLW players named in the Kiwi Ferns’ wider squad but she did not play in the match against Fetu Samoa.

Bartlett was snapped up by the Dragons for the 2021 NRLW competition (played in early-2022) and scored a premiership-leading six tries – including the Saints’ sole four-pointer as they went down to the Roosters in the grand final. After scoring a double – along with a 136-metre contribution from 14 runs – in the Kiwi Ferns’ 50-12 midyear win over Mate Ma’a Tonga in Auckland, the 27-year-old linked with Gold Coast Titans, playing all five of their 2022 NRLW games and scoring three tries.

Bartlett headed to the England-hosted World Cup billed at the end of 2022 billed as one of New Zealand’s chief backline weapons and had a strong tournament, featuring in four matches and scoring a try in the opening pool win over France and posting the Kiwi Ferns’ only try in the jarring 54-4 loss to Australia in the final.

Annetta-Claudia Nuuasala joined her older brother, 15-Test Kiwi Frank-Paul, in becoming a regular in the New Zealand team.

The Marist tyro received her first big break in 2016, when the 21-year-old was part of the Kiwi Ferns’ squad at the NRL Auckland Nines. Three months later Nuuausala was lining up in the second-row against the Jillaroos on Test debut, racking up 127 metres in a 26-16 victory.

Nuuausala scored a try in a 38-0 shutout of Papua New Guinea and came off the bench in a 52-4 semi-final rout of England at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, but she did not play in the final. After performing a big-hitting role in the Warriors’ historic win over Sydney Roosters in the first-ever NRLW match in 2018, she returned to the Kiwi Ferns’ starting pack.

The bruising forward scored a try in a standout interchange appearance as New Zealand went down 26-24 to Australia in Auckland.

Nuuausala turned out in Richmond Roses’ 2019 Auckland grand final loss before featuring at prop in the Kiwi Ferns’ 46-8 mid-season win over Samoa. She subsequently played all three games of the Warriors’ NRLW campaign, averaging over 90 metres a game.

She retained her front-row position for the post-season Test against the Jillaroos, making 95 metres and 18 tackles in a wholehearted display.

Nuuausala returned to the NRLW and international arenas in 2022. She was named Newcastle Knights’ inaugural Player of the Year after their 2021 NRLW campaign (played in early-2022) before being recruited by Brisbane Broncos and playing two games for the club in its 2022 foray, while Nuuausala was typically imposing in the Kiwi Ferns’ 50-12 midseason defeat of Mate Ma’a Tonga, chewing off 139 metres from 12 runs.

The 27-year-old backed up for her second World Cup campaign at the end of 2022, lining up as a starting front-rower in all five of New Zealand’s matches at the tournament and scoring a try against Cook Islands.

Following in the footsteps of revered Kiwi Ferns fullback stalwart Sarina Fiso, Apii Nicholls has developed into a superstar of women’s rugby league since making her international debut in 2017.

A long-time Cook Islands Rugby Sevens rep, Nicholls exploded onto the rugby league scene in 2017. The Otahuhu Leopards junior won an ARL grand final with Manurewa Marlins – playing on the wing with Fiso at fullback – and featured in Counties-Manukau’s NZRL National Women’s Competition success, before getting a Kiwi Ferns call-up for the World Cup.

With Fiso unavailable for the RLWC, clubmate Nicholls took possession of the New Zealand No.1 jumper. She played four of New Zealand’s five games at the tournament, scoring a try on debut against Canada and starring in the gallant defeat to Australia in the final. The gutsy custodian was later named the Kiwi Ferns’ Player of the Year.

Nicholls was a key recruit for the Warriors’ inaugural women’s squad and played all six of the club’s NRLW games in the 2018-19 seasons, averaging 75 metres and kicking seven goals.

She was magnificent in the Kiwi Ferns’ 26-24 end-of-season Test loss in 2019, racking up 131 metres, a try-assist and two goals.

Switching to Papakura Sisters in 2019, Nicholls’ influence on the representative scene was no less striking. The police constable scored a try and a goal in the Kiwi Ferns’ 46-8 win over Fetu Samoa and was solid at the back in the Test loss to Australia either side of playing an integral role in New Zealand’s World Cup Nines triumph.

Nicholls joined Richmond Roses in 2020, scored two tries in three Sky Sports NZRL National Women’s Premiership matches for Akarana Falcons and was named in the Kiwi Ferns’ wider squad ahead of the clash with Fetu Samoa, but she did not play in the Test.

The 29-year-old returned to the NRLW scene as a fullback and centre for Gold Coast Titans in the 2022 premiership, before being named in the Kiwi Ferns’ squad for the World Cup. Nicholls was a standout at the tournament, scoring tries in the pool matches against France and Australia, and slotting two goals in the semi-final defeat of England before featuring in the heavy loss to the Jillaroos in the final.

Nicholls was one of the fledgling Canberra Raiders’ star signings for their inaugural NRLW campaign in 2023, wearing the No.1 jersey in all eight of their regular-season games before taking her place in the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships squad.

The veteran was superb at the back in both matches against the Jillaroos – particularly the drought-breaking 12-6 victory in Melbourne as she chalked up a line-break, a try assist and 116 metres.

Richmond Roses centre/second-rower Crystal Tamarua has become a regular in the Kiwi Ferns’ pack in recent seasons.

The 21-year-old debuted in the 2017 Anzac Test loss to the Jillaroos, but she went on to represent Cook Islands at the World Cup at the end of the season.

Tamarua, who also turned out for Akarana in the NZRL National Women’s Competition, was part of the Kiwi Ferns’ wider squad in 2018 but did not play a Test. However, she did earn a place in the Warriors’ inaugural NRLW squad and made a solid impression in the front-row in their loss to St George Illawarra.

She was a standout off the bench in the Kiwi Ferns’ mid-2019 clash with Fetu Samoa, racking up 85 running metres in the 46-8 victory. After featuring in a third straight Auckland grand final loss with the Roses, Tamarua backed up for a second NRLW campaign and started all three of the Warriors’ matches in the second-row.

Tamarua was subsequently one of New Zealand’s most effective forwards in the World Cup Nines final defeat of Australia, before notching 70 metres and 26 tackles in a wholehearted second-row
performance as the Kiwi Ferns went down to the Jillaroos in the Wollongong-hosted Test.

One of only five New Zealand-based players to venture to Australia for the Warriors’ 2020 NRLW campaign, Tamarua started at prop in all three of the club’s matches and averaged 87 metres and 18 tackles. She was one of just two NRLW players to return home for the Kiwi Ferns’ clash with Fetu Samoa, starting in the second-row and charging 40 metres for the final try of their 28-8 win at Mt Smart Stadium.

Overcoming a serious ankle injury that prevented her from lining up for fledgling Gold Coast Titans, Tamarua linked with Brisbane Broncos in 2022 and came off the bench in two NRLW matches. She capped the comeback with Kiwi Ferns selection for the World Cup, where her sole appearance came as an interchange in the pool win over Cook Islands.

Wily hooker Krystal Rota has developed into one of the most prominent players in women’s rugby league and one of New Zealand’s genuine leaders in recent years.

As a promising 22-year-old Rota – the daughter of highly-regarded form Otahuhu centre Roger – made the Kiwi Ferns’ training squad for the first time but missed out on the 2008 Rugby League World Cup team.

After taking a three-year break from the game, Rota earned a breakthrough call-up for the inaugural Kiwi Ferns v Jillaroos series at the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. Three months later she debuted off the bench in New Zealand’s Anzac Test loss to Australia.

Rota was promoted to the No.9 jersey for the corresponding Anzac Test clash in 2016, scoring a try in the Kiwi Ferns’ 26-16 victory in Newcastle. She retained her spot for the 2017 Anzac Test loss to Australia.

The dynamic dummy-half was named Auckland Women’s Player of the Year in 2017 after helping Manurewa to premiership success and overcame an eye injury suffered in the grand final to take her place in New Zealand’s RLWC squad.

Rota was a mainstay during the tournament and featured at hooker in the Ferns’ gallant defeat to the Jillaroos in the thrilling final.

A key member of the all-conquering Counties-Manukau provincial team, Rota joined Papakura Sisters in 2018. She then played all three games in the Warriors’ historic NRLW campaign.

Rota was named co-captain for the Māori All Stars’ inaugural encounter with the Indigenous All Stars during the 2019 pre-season. The 33-year-old scored the winning try and received the Trish Hina Medal as player of the match. She contributed 19 tackles and 94 running metres to the Kiwi Ferns’ mid-season win over Samoa.

Another grand final triumph with Papakura followed, while Rota was one of the Warriors’ standouts in the 2019 NRLW. She again played all three games and averaged 30 tackles and 80 metres, as well as producing two try-assists.

Rota starred in the Kiwi Ferns’ World Cup Nines success and was at hooker again for the subsequent Test loss to the Jillaroos in Wollongong.

The veteran’s leadership qualities came to the fore in 2020. After leading Māori All Stars against Indigenous All Stars for the second straight season, Rota skippered Counties Manukau to glory in the inaugural Sky Sports NZRL National Women’s Premiership. She was then named Kiwi Ferns captain for the end-of-season Test against Fetu Samoa, producing a typically strong performance at hooker in New Zealand’s 28-8 victory. She was named the Kiwi Ferns’ Player of the Year.

Rota represented Māori All Stars again in early-2022 before featuring at hooker in four of Newcastle Knights’ five games in their inaugural NRLW campaign. She led New Zealand in the mid-2022 Test against Tonga and was a dominant figure in the 50-12 victory at Mt Smart Stadium, chalking up 126 metres from 14 runs, three line-break assists and 20 tackles, before helping Manurewa Marlins win the Auckland premiership.

The 37-year-old skipper was among the Kiwi Ferns’ most experienced campaigners as they launched their World Cup assault in England at the end of the year. She was at hooker for all five matches at the tournament – scoring a try against Cook Islands – which ended with a disappointing loss to Australia in the final.

 

A classy performer in the halves with the versatility and work-rate to play hooker or lock, Georgia Hale has become one of women’s rugby league’s most recognisable – and through her community work at the Warriors, hardest-working – figures of an era where the code has made enormous progress.

A New Zealand touch and tag-football rep, Hale was 18th player for the Kiwi Ferns in their 2014 Test against the Jillaroos at just 19 years of age. A few months later she featured in the historic Kiwi Ferns-Jillaroos series at the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.

Hale made her Test debut off the bench in the 2015 Anzac Test loss. The gifted playmaker was the linchpin of the Kiwi Ferns’ 2016-17 Auckland Nines campaigns and wore the No.6 in the Anzac Test both seasons.

Named vice-captain for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup soon after turning 22, Hale featured in pool wins over Canada and Papua New Guinea, and the semi-final demolition of England. But she was an unlucky omission from the game-day 17 for the final against Australia.

The Richmond stalwart – playing in all three of the Roses’ 2017-19 ARL grand final losses – and Akarana Falcons rep was part of the Warriors’ squad for the inaugural NRLW premiership in 2018. She started all three games at halfback for the Warriors, before coming off the bench in the Kiwi Ferns’ end-of-season Test loss to the Jillaroos.

The courageous Hale returned to New Zealand’s starting line-up for the mid-season Test against Fetu Samoa in 2019, racking up 29 tackles and 122 metres from lock in the 46-8 win.

Named Warriors captain for their sophomore NRLW campaign, Hale switched to the No.13 jersey for the Warriors’ first two games and scored their opening try in the win over Sydney Roosters. She reverted to five-eighth for the Warriors’ final match – a stunning 10-8 upset of eventual champs Brisbane. The 24-year-old averaged 69 metres and 36 tackles across the three games.

After playing a key role in the Kiwi Ferns’ World Cup Nines triumph (she made a team-high 57 metres in the upset of the Jillaroos in the final), Hale was at lock again in the subsequent Test loss to Australia in Wollongong.

Already named a Kiwibank Local Hero Medal recipient and the New Zealand representative player of the year at the RLPA Players’ Champion awards, Hale’s contribution to rugby league and community initiatives for children and people with disabilities was further recognised when she was honoured as the 2019 Young New Zealander of the Year.

The inspirational Hale – one of just five New Zealand-based players to head to Australia for the 2020 NRLW premiership – was appointed the Warriors’ captain, starring in the No.13 jersey in all three of the club’s games and averaging 39 tackles and 68 metres. She was awarded the Veronica White Medal on NRL Grand Final Day for her exceptional off-field work.

Hale relocated to Australia in 2021 and linked with Tweed Heads Seagulls in the QRL Women’s Premiership as well as becoming a marquee signing for Gold Coast Titans’ fledgling NRLW team. She helped the Titans reach the semi-finals at their first attempt – in the 2021 NRLW, played in early-2022 – and played all five of the club’s games in the 2022 NRLW competition, averaging a staggering 44 tackles per game.

Hale was inspirational at lock in New Zealand’s 50-12 defeat of Tonga midway through 2022, topping her team’s count with 28 tackles and running for a game-high 194 metres from 20 carries. The 27-year-old shaped as one of the Kiwi Ferns’ most important cogs as they eyed off World Cup glory at the end of the year, featuring in a familiar ball-playing lock role in four matches of a campaign that ultimately ended with another final defeat at the hands of the Jillaroos.

The veteran added another glittering chapter to her career in 2023 by captaining the Titans all the way to the grand final, where they were gallant in a 24-18 loss to Newcastle Knights.

Hale’s experience, class and incredible work-rate were vital to the Kiwi Ferns’ Pacific Championships campaign in late-2023. Installed as co-captained, the No.13 topped the tackle count in both matches against Australia and the win over Tonga with 40-plus stops in each Test, while leading the Kiwi Ferns to a long-awaited win over the Jillaroos in Melbourne saw her run for a team-high 157 metres and rated as a career highlight.