25 reasons to watch the Founders Cup first grade women’s rugby competition starting Saturday
Players to watch: Here’s 25 reasons why the Founders Cup first grade women’s rugby competition is sure to entertain this season. See who is shaping up as key talents from all eight clubs.
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A new first grade women’s rugby competition starts this Saturday in South East Queensland, formally known as the StoreLocal Premier Women’s but now the Founders Cup.
The Founders Cup will be contested by three-peat premiers Bond University, big improvers Brothers, 2024 runners up Easts, the mighty Norths Eagles, Souths Magpies, last year’s minor premiers Sunnybank, University and StoreLocal Challenge Cup premiers Wests.
The Bulldogs went undefeated through eight games in the Challenge Cup, a 14-team competition which concluded a fortnight ago and featured new teams Brisbane Irish, Bond Pirates, Redlands and Gold Coast Eagles.
An eight-team race, missing traditional heavyweights GPS who cannot field a team, starts on Saturday with the Bull Sharks eyeing off a historic fourth straight premiership.
But it won’t be easy.
The girls from University, Sunnybank, Easts and Wests will be hot on their heels while a promising group from Brothers can also challenge for the Founders Cup title.
So who are some of the key players shaping up as game-changers for their respective sides? Read on or see for yourself on Saturday when Sunnybank host Souths, Norths welcome Easts to Hugh Courtney Oval and Bond face off against visitors Wests in a blockbuster bout on the Coast.
FIRST GRADE WOMEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Maraea Tupai (Wests Bulldogs)
A blockbusting No. 8 with big game experience as a Queensland Red, Tupai has taken no prisoners in club land for years now and it will be no different when round 1 rolls around this Saturday.
Right at home in the Super Rugby W, Tupai is a revered ball runner across first grade and can create plenty for the Bulldogs with her leg drive.
Leila Wood (Wests Bulldogs)
A terrific playmaker, Wood has come through the ranks in Queensland Rugby and would be one of the first picked each week by coach Manuel Cole-Manolis.
The crafty flyhalf or fullback just gets rugby. A calm head under pressure, Wood’s kicking game is also a strength which is gold at this level.
Sabay Lynam (Wests Bulldogs)
A side-stepping whiz capable of playing almost anywhere in the backline, Lynam licks her lips at the sight of a one-on-one with the ball in hand.
In defence, the former Hong Kong Rugby 7s select is rock solid. But it is her attacking prowess which excites Wests players most when she is given room to rove.
Maggie McConnachie (Brothers)
A tried and tested campaigner at Brothers, opensied McConnachie is a leader in the pack and high-effort forward who leads the way with her work rate.
Seemingly always in the right spot at the right times, McConnachie loves a pilfer and swinging momentum in her team’s favour.
A glue player.
Faalalotonga Samaila (Brothers)
Nicknamed ‘Smiley’ by teammates, Faalalotonga can cover the lock, flanker and No. 8 positions and is the type of tough leader who can add a different and damaging dimension to the Brothers pack.
A heavy lifter across the park, power forward Faalalotonga was someone her peers looked to when a big run was needed in the Challenge Cup season.
Benji Tova (Brothers)
A premiership-wining flyhalf from Auckland, Tova has time on her hands and big match experience.
Equally at home in the midfield, the tough playmaker has made waves at the Auckland Storm across the ditch and is looking to take The Brethren to the next level under a rain-soaked Brisbane climate.
Leilani Koroi (Sunnybank Dragons)
Koroi has been a loyal servant to the club and teammates will be hoping more of her tackle-busting carries and power game can propel them into the grand final.
A tighthead prop of more than 50 first grade games, Koroi and hooker Ana Drotini will be among the more ferocious front rowers in the run to the Founders Cup Trophy.
Seini Piutau (Sunnybank Dragons)
From the hotbed of rugby and rugby league in Logan City, Piutau adds youth, depth and flair to a Sunnybank outfit gunning for an elusive first grade title.
A winger with speed and talent in bounds, Piutau was a part of Souths Logan’s representative under-19s rugby league team earlier this year and has impressed senior members of the ‘Bank squad.
Confident and courageous.
Ana Afuie (Sunnybank Dragons)
No surprises here.
Afuie, Queensland Premier Women’s reigning two-time Selena Worsley medallist, is just elite.
Chatty, chirpy and highly-skilled, Afuie speeds the game up for the Dragons.
Lucy Thorpe (Bond University)
Number eight Lucy Thorpe adds a thunderous dimension to an already potent Bond forward pack.
Unrelenting in the tackle, Thorpe sets a high standard with her work rate across the paddock and is always a good option in attack.
Can play lock and rarely takes a backward step running the ball.
Evie Sampson (Bond University)
Bond wouldn’t trade young rising star Sampson for any scrumhalf in the competition.
If they could clone her, they would.
An attacking ace growing into the no. 9 role, Sampson has come out of the renowned King’s Christian College stable. She gives Bond’s attack another dimension with her instincts and running game from the base of the ruck or feet of her scrummaging forwards.
Paris Mohr (Bond University)
A big improver at The Canal, Mohr has taken her game up two levels in the last 12 months to be one of Bond’s most important forwards.
A nimble lock with height and strength, Mohr is not shy to get involved in the tough stuff and is a supreme lineout target.
Reliable and busy on both sides of the ball.
TJ Murray (Bond University)
If you haven’t heard of TJ Murray yet it’s only a matter of time before the King’s Christian College schoolgirl graces the turf of your local rugby club and tears up.
A young high achiever formidable in rugby 7s and as a rugby union centre, Murray made senior players stand up and take note when she was the player of the match in Bond’s first outing of the season against Easts earlier this year.
The Coomera Crushers midfielder plays well above her tender age of 16.
Zophronia Setu (University)
A deserving Queensland Reds debutant in the off-season, Setu will service the Uni scrum with vim and vigour after mixing it with the state’s finest at Ballymore.
A hooker with good ball skills and plenty of strength, Setu bolsters a Uni outfit also eagerly awaiting the return of Lori Cramer, Caitlin Urwin, Nat Wright and Tiarna Minns who are touring with the Wallaroos.
Molly Kennedy (University)
University’s vice-captain, Molly Kennedy has made quite the impression since arriving at the club from Bathurst.
A front-row utility, Kennedy is in the peak of her rugby career and has the power and scrum control to make a big difference for premiership contenders Uni.
Cat Wesley (University)
A backrow brute from England, Wesley was a wonder for University in its excellent Challenge Cup season where they finished second.
A prolific tryscorer with a knack for generating turnovers, Wesley is worth her weight in gold attacking the breakdown but she also attacks with her defence.
There is no holding Cat Wesley.
Maggie Stafford (Souths Magpies)
The emergence of flanker Maggie Stafford was a highlight during Souths’ Challenge Cup campaign.
A young standout, Stafford is an under-16s player scoring tries against Queensland’s best in Premier Women club rugby.
A promising all-rounder in the flanks, Stafford will do a bit of everything including breaking the line, defending mauls and thinking quick on her feet to make a difference for Souths.
Jordis Turner (Souths Magpies)
You can’t teach what Turner has and that’s speed.
A pacy fullback, Turner is a game defender but her draw card is quicksilver speed.
It comes in handy on both sides of the ball.
Isabella Maladina (Souths Magpies)
New to union from an Australian rules football background, Maladina has been a welcomed new recruit at the Magpies nest.
A smart rugby winger, Maladina has taken no time at all to get up to speed on holding down the fort out wide and swinging across to make cover tackles.
Also keep a watch on Magpies midfielder Solosoloula Peilua, a powerful league convert from the successful Goodna Eagles.
April Ngatupuna (Easts Tigers)
A young veteran, front-rower Ngatupuna plays like she has been bruising shoulders for decades.
She is only 22.
The Tigers vice-captain, Ngatupuna hits hard and sees space well.
Power personified.
Lina Mia Chioato (Easts Tigers)
Someone the Tigers girls love playing for, Chioato will wear jersey No. 7 and catch the eye with an unearthly work rate.
A capped Somoan national, Chioato runs hard, tackles harder and does it a rate of knots which instils confidence in her peers.
Cool, calm and collected off the field and unrelenting on it, she can get the job done.
Piper Flynn (Easts Tigers)
A slick outside back talent, Flynn has thrived in the 15-a-side code since coming across from Rugby 7s.
An impressive squad member of Super Rugby W runners up Queensland, Flynn has x-factor, quick feet and speed to burn.
What she can do with the ball is magic at times.
Emily Eglen (Norths)
Watch for the smart fullback to create chances for Norths.
A prolific tryscorer, Eglen lit up pitches across the south east during the Challenger Cup with her speed and guile a big feature in Norths’ vast improvement.
Iliasaane Fanguno (Norths)
Likely Norths’ flyhalf, Fanguno is new to the nest from Victoria and is of Tongan heritage.
She is a rugby smart fullback or No. 10 with vision and direction.
Danni Mellow (Norths)
Mellow, like Fanguno, is new to the club but can make a big difference in no time when Saturday arrives.
A tough, uncompromising openside flanker, Mellow moves with intent and competes like it is her last game.
Also keep a watch on wrecking ball tighthead prop Liv Warlow and scrumhalf Ella Wisnewski.
Originally published as 25 reasons to watch the Founders Cup first grade women’s rugby competition starting Saturday
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