The NRL Women’s competition is about to kick off its biggest season yet.
After three successful tournaments to date, a further three clubs have added teams to the NRLW draw.
The delayed season – which begins with a triple-header in Newcastle on Sunday – will now feature six teams.
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The Broncos have won all three titles contested so far, but now they’ll be challenged by the Roosters, Dragons, Eels, Titans, and Knights.
Here is everything you need to know about the NRLW season, including Ruan Sims’ full breakdown of all six squads and her predictions for the season ahead.
FULL SCHEDULE
Round 1
Sunday, February 27 (all at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle)
12pm Dragons vs Titans
1.50pm Roosters vs Broncos
3.40pm Knights vs Eels
Round 2
Sunday, March 6 (all at WIN Stadium, Wollongong)
12pm Knights vs Broncos
1.50pm Roosters vs Titans
3.40pm Dragons vs Eels
Round 3
Saturday, March 12
1pm Roosters vs Knights at SCG
Sunday, March 13
12pm Broncos vs Dragons at CommBank Stadium
1.45pm Eels vs Titans at CommBank Stadium
Round 4
Saturday, March 19
12pm Titans vs Broncos at Cbus Super Stadium
Sunday, March 20
12pm Eels vs Roosters at McDonald Jones Stadium
1.45pm Knights vs Dragons at McDonald Jones Stadium
Round 5
Saturday, March 26
1pm Dragons vs Roosters at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Sunday, March 27
12pm Titans vs Knights at Suncorp Stadium
1.45pm Broncos vs Eels at Suncorp Stadium
Semi-finals: Date and venue TBC
Grand final: Sunday, April 10 at Moreton Daily Stadium
HOW TO WATCH
Every game of the NRLW season will be shown LIVE on Nine and 9Now.
A new, weekly dedicated NRLW panel show featuring Ruan Sims, Allana Ferguson, and Emma Lawrence will also air each Thursday on the Wide World of Sports website, 9Now and the NRL on Nine YouTube channel.
It will give viewers comprehensive analysis and exclusive player interviews throughout the competition.
FULL SQUADS
Broncos: Kaitlyn Phillips, Emily Bass, Jada Ferguson, Toni Hunt, Lesa Kaleti Mataafa, Hayley Maddick, Amy Turner, Sara Sautia, Tarryn Aiken, Millie Boyle, Ali Brigginshaw, Lauren Brown, Shenae Ciesiolka, Lavinia Gould, Amber Hall, Tallisha Harden, Chelsea Lenarduzzi, Julia Robinson, Nakita Sao, Tamika Upton, Roxy Murdoch, Hagiga Mosby
Dragons: Elsie Albert, Kezie Apps, Madison Bartlett, Shaylee Bent, Teagan Berry, Keele Browne, Jaime Chapman, Keeley Davis, Quincy Dodd, Tegan Dymock, Taliah Fuimaono, Talei Holmes, Shellie Long, Page McGregor, Aliti Namoce-Sagano, Rachael Pearson, Natassja Purontakanen, Alexandra Sulusi, Renee Targett, Emma Tonegato, Chantel Tugaga, Holli Wheeler, Janelle Williams, Kody House
Eels: Abbi Church, Botille Vette-Welsh, Christine Pauli, Elli Johnston, Emily Curtain, Fatafehi Hanisi, Filomina Hanisi, Jamie Anne Wright, Jocephy Daniels, Katrina May, Phippen, Kennedy Cherrington, Nita Maynard, Rikeya Horne, Sereana Naitokatoka, Simaima Taufa, Taina Naividi, Tiana Penitani, Tommaya Kelly-Sines, Jade Etherden, Maddie Studdon, Shriley (Seli) Mailangi, Tesse Staines, Therese Aiton, Mareva Swann
Titans: Karina Brown, Zara Canfield, Brianna Clark, Jessika Elliston, Tazmin Gray, Georgia Hale, Steph Hancock, Shannon Mato, Shaniah Power, Crystal Tamarua, Brittany Breayley-Nati, Kimiora Breayley-Nati, Destiny Brill, Lauren Dam, Jetaya Faifua, Grace Griffin, Karli Hansen, Cobie-Jane Morgan, April Ngatupuna, Jasmine Peters, Rona Peters, Tiana Raftstrand-Smith, Evania Pelite
Roosters: Isabelle Kelly, Jessica Sergis, Chante Temara, Shawden Burton, Olivia Higgins, Olivia Kernick, Mya Hill-Moana, Tayla Predebon, Otesa Pule, Leianne Tufuga, Corban Baxter, Keilee Joseph, Jocelyn Kelleher, Yasmin Meakes, Brydie Parker, Hannah Southwell, Zahara Temara, Sarah Togatuki, Raecene McGregor, Joeli Morris, Simone Karpani, Lauretta Leao-Seve, Taylor-Adeline Mapusua
Knights: Ngatokotoru Arakua, Phoebe Desmond, Rangimarie Edwards-Bruce, Maitua Feterika, Jayme Fressard, Chantelle Graham, Katie Green, Caitlan Johnston, Bobbi Law, Emma Manzelmann, Annetta Nu’uausala, Georgia Page, Paige Parker, Charntay Poko, Krystal Rota, Charlotte Scanlan, Kyra Simon, Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly, Emma Sykes, Romy Teitzel, Tahlulah Tillett, Katelyn Vaha’akolo, Kararaina Wira-Kohu, Kirra Dibb
THE KEY PLAYERS FOR EACH TEAM
League legend Ruan Sims runs the rule over each of the six squads, and picks out the players who will decide their fortunes.
TITANS
“Brittany Breayley-Nati has been named captain, which is a really good move by Jamie Feeney, because she does have wonderful skills when it comes to leadership. And Kimiora (Breayley-Nati), I think it was in 2018, she got player of the match. She is incredible, she’s outstanding, and she plays in the halves. To have that sort of skill coming in it’s really going to solidify the spine for the Titans. Georgia Hale is there now as well – it was great to see her get a run with an Aussie team since the Warriors were unable to take their place this season. She is incredible. Evania Pelite is back as well, she was planning on taking some time out but she’s come back to the game which is fantastic. She’s a Rugby Sevens player as well, super fast.”
Player to watch: Cobie-Jane Morgan
“Not much is known about her because this is her first stint in rugby league, but she has an incredible history in rugby union. She’s played Sevens, she’s played 15s, and she’s a scrum-half in union so I imagine she will probably play a similar role for the Titans, in that hooking position or even slotting into the halves. She could also slot into the lock role, she’s got really great footwork.”
BRONCOS
“Ali Brigginshaw, the captain, is a name who’s really well known throughout rugby league. She started as a half, but she’s really moved into more of a lock role with the Broncos which allows Tarryn Aiken to play in the halves. The two of them can switch positions really well, and that can be really dangerous because if you’ve got someone who’s got great footwork and really good ball skills playing in the middle, against some tired middle forwards, that starts to create a lot of space where hard-running backrowers or centres can make some inroads. Tamika Upton is one you can’t go past – she’s an incredible talent. She’s so fast, she moves brilliantly. If you’ve got Ali and Tarryn creating some space, turning opposition hips and shoulders in, Tamika can really sniff out where those gaps are, she hits the gap at pace and you just can’t stop her.
Player to watch: Kaitlyn Phillips
“She’s a young second-rower. She has a really powerful running style, runs some really nice lines and is very raw. The more time she gets in the top grade playing against the best players, and developing, the better she is going to get.”
KNIGHTS
“One to keep an eye on is Tahlulah Tillett – she’s a very young half from the Gold Coast, she played for Gold Stars up there, and she’s a very talented young half. Kirra Dibb was actually paired with her in the halves for the Indigenous (All Stars) side and both of them are in this squad for the Knights. I’m not sure if the coach will run with these two as his pairing, but they’ve played together at that level and they won, they were successful. Kirra at five-eighth took on a lot of organising, and that allowed Tahlulah to play her more natural game, she plays off the cuff and is quite sparky. She sees a short side really well.
“Krystal Rota has come from the Warriors, and it’s great to see her in there. For the Maori last weekend she was on the bench – that’s how strong that Maori team was, they had a player of her calibre sitting on the sideline. But I imagine she will play a real part in how (the Knights) go.”
ROOSTERS
“Simone Karpani is a very powerful player. She’s going to be one if you don’t your eye on, she will bust you apart. Very powerful, which is really exciting. She plays really similar to Sarah Togatuki, a powerfully built, strong ball-runner and great defender. They’ve obviously recruited Jess Sergis now. When you’ve got players like Isabelle Kelly and Jess Sergis playing at opposite centres, you’ve got strike power to burn out wide. Raecene McGregor is a part of the squad now – you pair her with Zahara Tamara, they were the halves pairing for the Maori team last weekend, they know how each other work and Zahara is really going to steer that side. Those two are going to play really well together. Then you’ve got Hannah Southwell through the middle who is a staunch defender, she’s really a great organiser of the line and comes up with some great technical tackles.”
EELS
“The real standout for me is Botille Vette-Welsh. She’s very much like Tamika Upton, moves so beautifully with ball in hand, she’s very silky with her skills and she has an excellent read on the game. If you give her freedom at the back to pop up wherever she needs to, she can play similar to the way (NSW coach Brad Fittler) played (Tom Trbojevic in State of Origin), where he sort of moved around and changed positions. She can do the same sort of thing, she’s really exciting. They’ve also picked up Maddie Studdon, so they have a lot of experience in the halves.”
Player to watch: Mareva Swann
“You’ll know her name by the end of the competition. She played under 18s for NSW and she is an absolute talent. If she gets a run, gets some decent game time, I think we’ll see some exciting things out of her. She can play in the backs or the halves, she played No.6 for under 18s NSW. We had an opposed session before we went away last year and she was an absolute standout. She’s very exciting.”
DRAGONS
“We saw this week Kezie Apps has been made captain again, which is amazing. She’s the main leader there within the team. A returning face, who I’m so excited to see back, is Emma Tonegato. She was in our 2013 World Cup team when we won it for the first time, she was a little 19-year-old back then and now she’s back in the fold. It was exciting to see her excel playing Sevens, but I’m really pumped to see her back playing rugby league. Another returning face is Alex Sulusi – I played rep footy with her, she went and played for the Wallaroos and has now come back to league which is exciting. Talei Holmes also has the potential to set a game alight. She’s quite slight, but she’s a really strong runner and she loves hard work. She plays lock and second row, but she’s got the pace that you could push her out to centre and she’s not out of place. She’s a really great defensive read, and her footwork pre-contact really gets her through the line. Even though she’s slight, she bends the line every time and makes a real impact.”
Player to watch: Jaime Chapman
“She can break a game apart. We saw last week when she scored a few tries how exciting she is with ball in hand. She runs a bit like Justin Hodges used to – she doesn’t look that quick but she’s got long strides, and it can be confusing when you see her pulling away from someone. She’s one to keep an eye on.”
RUAN’S PREDICTIONS
Brisbane has dominated the NRLW competition, winning all three premierships that have been contested to date.
But the draw has doubled to six teams now, and the Broncos will have their work cut out defending the title.
“I think they’ve got a fair bit of competition this year,” Sims said of the Broncos.
“But you would be silly to write them off. They have the ability to always turn out excellent footballers, and excellent football.
“There is a lot of competition this year. Can you ask me after Sunday?
“It’s going to be really tight.”
Sims – a former middle enforcer herself – says the forward packs could ultimately decide which team comes out on top.
“The forward battles are going to be huge. It’s not going to be any different to the men, where if you can own that middle third, it’s gives your halves a lot more time and space to be creative, or you can bring your speedsters into the game.
“It will be interesting to see if the power games nullify each other, or whether one is able to out-muscle the other. I really want to see how that resilience pops up, and how they deal with adversity when it comes at them.
“There’s going to be some big hits, I know that for a fact.”
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