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, and recovered from a major injury setback to win another NRLW title and another Kiwi Ferns return in 2024.
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.
Joining Sydney Roosters in 2023, Hall suffered a lisfranc injury in the opening round that ruled her out of the rest of the NRLW campaign and Kiwi Ferns contention. But she returned in outstanding style in 2024, scoring five tries in 10 games for the Tricolours and starting in the second-row in their grand final victory over Cronulla, where her powerhouse running and clutch defence played an important role.
Kiwi Ferns selection for the 2024 Pacific Championships followed for the 29-year-old.
