NRLW 2022: Fox League’s Lara Pitt previews every team and the players to watch in season 4
There are three new teams but the reigning premiers, the Broncos, remain the team to beat as the NRLW enters an exciting new era, writes Fox League’s LARA PITT.
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While NRLW players continue to campaign for full-time status, 144 of the code’s best athletes have signed on for a historic season of league that features Parramatta, Newcastle and Gold Coast all making their debuts.
The expanded tournament will culminate with a stand-alone decider in Redcliffe on April 10 and three-time champion Brisbane will again be the favourite heading into season four of the NRLW.
This season will also feature 35-minute halves – an increase from 30 in previous seasons – and for the first time the competition will hold semi-finals. The top four will advance to week six, when first will play fourth and second will face third.
Despite expansion and player movement, the Broncos are still my clear favourites.
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BRISBANE BRONCOS
The three-time champions will be the favourites because of the star power of Ali Brigginshaw, Tarryn Aiken, Tamika Upton, Amber Hall, and Millie Boyle.
PLAYER TO WATCH – Amber Hall
While reigning Dally M Medallist Brigginshaw is considered the best player in the women’s game, her rampaging Kiwi teammate Hall has been the fearless leader of this Broncos pack in their past two premierships. The winner of the Karen Murphy Medal for best on ground in the 2020 NRLW grand final, who swept the Broncos awards night in the same year, Hall is one of the most feared forwards in the game and plays a pivotal role in a strong defensive unit.
RISING STAR – Nakita Sao
In a star-studded line-up, coach Kelvin Wright can see a bright future for teenage forward Sao. Yet to make her NRLW debut, Sao played most of her football as a halfback but with the Under-19 Queensland Origin representative making a move to the forwards, her greatest assets will be her leg speed and footwork.
GOLD COAST TITANS
History will be made in round 4 when newcomers the Gold Coast Titans host the first Queensland derby against the Broncos. Coach Jamie Feeney has assembled a side with the experience of Broncos premiership winners Karina Brown, Tazmin Gray, Brittany Breayley-Nati and legend Steph Hancock, who is running around one last time.
The Titans have also signed exciting young talent such as hooker Destiny Brill, who burst on to the scene last year with a stunning performance on debut for Queensland.
PLAYER TO WATCH – Evania Pelite.
The Sevens superstar is back after competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games last year. This tough competitor took the NRLW by storm in her rookie season when she last played rugby league for the Warriors and Titans fans can look forward to seeing the backline star bust plenty of tackles in their colours.
RISING STAR – Jetaya Faifua.
Another former sevens player, the 19-year-old Gold Coast local has impressed since making the switch to rugby league last year. Capable of playing in the halves, centre, wing or fullback, Faifua’s footwork, speed and vision mean she has representative player written all over her.
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
The Dragons lose marquee Jess Sergis (Roosters), Isabelle Kelly (Roosters) and Sam Bremner (maternity leave) but new coach Jamie Soward is quietly confident his squad will surprise a few people this season with an exciting, young team.
PLAYER TO WATCH – Emma Tonegato.
It is a homecoming for former Jillaroo Tonegato, who was born in Wollongong and returns to rugby league after eight years in Rugby Sevens. The Rio gold medallist has picked up the nickname “Ferrari” this pre-season due to her incredible fitness and speed. The fullback is definitely one to watch.
RISING STAR – Talei Holmes.
Such is the wrap on this 21-year-old, the Eels attempted to lure her to Sydney to be in their inaugural side. But Holmes remains in Wollongong and will run out for a second season of NRLW with the Dragons. The second-rower has impressed with her work rate and while not huge in stature, she runs strong lines and can cause havoc on an edge. Good judges are expecting representative duties very soon.
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
NRLW newcomers the Knights have assembled a strong New Zealand contingent, including a nearly all representative pack. But it’s a number of promising youngsters who coach Casey Bromilow is expecting to capture the hearts of fans in the Hunter.
PLAYER TO WATCH – Caitlyn Johnston.
If Johnston’s form at the All-Stars was anything to go by, this incredibly talented and tough forward will make a huge impact this year. With the World Cup at the end of the season, the Newcastle product will be looking to book her ticket on the plane to England.
RISING STAR – Katelyn Vaha’akolo.
The 21-year-old netball and rugby convert has made the move across from New Zealand for the opportunity to strut her stuff in the NRLW. Apart from bringing a bundle of energy to this Knights squad off the field, Vaha’akolo loves the tough stuff and will bring an explosive power game on the wing.
SYDNEY ROOSTERS
The 2020 grand finalists will be out to avenge their humbling by the Broncos the last time the NRLW was on our screens. The advantage for coach John Strange is that 12 of the 24-player squad have been plucked from his two-time Harvey Norman Premiership-winning side the Central Coast Roosters. It is hoped that the familiarity between players translates to immediate chemistry this NRLW season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH – Jessica Sergis, Isabelle Kelly.
It’s hard to go past the powerful backline duo of Jessica Sergis and Isabelle Kelly. While both could feature at fullback at some stage of the season, they are expected to take their place in the centres in round 1. They are sure to provide headaches for opponents in attack and also shore up the Roosters’ edges with rock-solid defence.
RISING STAR – Jocelyn Kelleher.
This AFL convert was spotted by coach John Strange two years ago and has made a remarkable transition to rugby league. After playing in the backrow and centres, the 21-year-old moved into the halves last year and will play an integral role if the Tri-colours are to go one better.
PARRAMATTA EELS
New kids on the block the Eels are looking to make the most of their opportunity to win over the huge fan base in Western Sydney and have started by bringing “home” local some talents – 2017 Dally M Medallist Simaima Taufa as well as 2020 NRLW Rookie of the Year Kennedy Cherrington. Coach Dean Widders’ focus has been on building a strong team culture first but he believes he has a few “hidden packages who will take the competition by storm”.
PLAYER TO WATCH – Botille Vette-Welsh.
In a World Cup year, the competition for the Jillaroos’ No.1 1 jersey will be red hot and a story to follow this season. By all reports, the Eels and NSW No.1 has put in the hard yards, which suggests she will have her biggest year yet and stake her claim to wear the green and gold.
RISING STAR – Tommaya Kelly-Sines.
At 27-years of age, Kelly-Sines might be considered a late bloomer but the front-rower has worked really hard to drop around 10kg over the past year to be at her dominant best. A standout performance for the Indigenous All-Stars all but cemented her spot in the Eels front-row and caught the eye of Jillaroos coach Brad Donald.
Part-time footy holding NRLW back
By Nick Walshaw
Jillaroos superstar Ali Brigginshaw is leading a push for NRLW contracts to not only go full time, but as high as $100,000 — warning female players this year “could earn more working at Woolies”.
On the eve of this Sunday’s historic NRLW season opener, a group of Australia’s most recognised female players — Brigginshaw, Kezie Apps, Corban Baxter and Simaima Taufa — have encouraged NRL bosses to overhaul the code in line with rivals such as cricket, soccer and rugby sevens.
While the upcoming season shapes as easily the biggest in women’s rugby league history, with six teams, two competitions, a World Cup, Origin and stand-alone deciders, the stars of the show are adamant more still needs doing.
Currently, the game’s top females earn $16,000 for an NRLW season.
This figure, they argue, and the competition length of only five rounds, is not enough for the code to reach its potential.
Roosters skipper Baxter argued elite NRLW players such as Brigginshaw deserved to earn up to $100,000 in an expanded league, where teams played each other at least twice.
Importantly, the players also want the competition’s minimum wage of just $8500 to be significantly increased, pointing to the improvements made in rival women’s sports when athletes go full time.
Launching the new season in Newcastle on Tuesday, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo talked up player opportunities, including increased sponsorships, representative pay rises and employment roles where marquee women’s players are “signed to the game full time”.
Yet while Abdo could not put a timeframe on the NRLW going full time – and even suggested it could take “years” – Brigginshaw and her fellow Jillaroos argued full-time wages, combined with a longer season, were an essential part of growing the game.
The Broncos captain also called for upgrades to the minimum wage contracts, worth around “$500 per week” over a season, spanning four months from pre-season to grand final.
“Right now, there’s a lot of girls on $8500,” Brigginshaw said. “Or $500 a week. You could earn more working at Woolies.
“But these players are still expected to train four times a week, and up to four hours a day, while also holding down full-time jobs.
“So this is the thing we need to work on. Make the game worth playing.”
Baxter agreed, suggesting the quality of NRLW games would “take off” if season lengths were increased and players were able to go full time.
“Things are improving but there’s a long way to go,” Baxter said.
“You see what’s happened in rugby sevens and cricket, where those women train full time and the quality of the games is awesome.
“At the moment in rugby league though, we’re training part time and getting extras in where we can. But when we do finally get the green light to go full time, the quality of women’s rugby league is going to take off.”
Asked what an elite NRLW player should earn, Baxter pointed to a figure of $100,000 saying, “I think that’s a figure we deserve and what players should get in the future”.
The upcoming NRLW season shapes as the biggest ever, with Parramatta, Newcastle and Gold Coast all debuting teams in an expanded tournament that will culminate with a stand-alone decider in Redcliffe on April 10.
But as for what it could be?
“It’s a really good question because, right now, our competition isn’t long enough for the players to quit their jobs and focus full-time on rugby league,” St George Illawarra skipper Apps said.
“So it’s difficult. You get more working than you do playing rugby league.
“But if we do go full time – if we’re paid to be full-time athletes – you’ll see rugby league excel exactly like other female codes have in that same environment.
“So, for the game to go to that next level, we have to (go full time).”
Parramatta captain Simaima Taufa also suggested that, for the NRLW to truly reach its potential, players needed to be given the opportunity to become full-time athletes.
“Because we know where we could be if the code did that,” she said. “What we could be capable of. You look at those girls coming across to NRLW from the rugby sevens program, you can just tell they’ve been in the full-time system.”
Quizzed on a timeframe for the NRLW going full time, Abdo said: “That’s difficult to predict. I don’t have an answer there. But what I can say is that we’re putting in place the foundations and the enablers to facilitate that.
“How many years that takes? I can’t answer. But, what I can say, is that we will invest in all levels of the pyramid to make sure the quality of the football and the quality of the experience for the players isn’t compromised.”
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Originally published as NRLW 2022: Fox League’s Lara Pitt previews every team and the players to watch in season 4
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