NRLWahine semi finals won't be full of Aotearoa flavour on Sunday but Roosters will have their championship trio, plus there is a sprinkle of Kiwi-NRL talent across the other three teams. There was also news this week that Eels fullback Gayle Broughton won't lace up for Kiwi Ferns at the World Cup as she is still learning the game and this offers a splash of clarity around the fullback position.

Gayle Broughton has all but ruled herself out of contention for the Kiwi Ferns ahead of next month’s World Cup in England, wanting more time to learn the game before she steps up to Test level. https://t.co/xqV4nvUFtt
— NRLW (@NRLWomens) September 20, 2022

Unfortunately the main contenders to play fullback for Aotearoa are out of action at the moment. Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly has been playing for Knights but won't play in their semi final against Dragons as she is injured and Kiwi Ferns veteran Apii Nicholls has been part of a lacklsutre Titans outfit, shifting from fullback to centre mid-season.

That yarn about Broughton featured an important nugget from Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry who outlined how a group of players have been training in Aotearoa ahead of the World Cup. Australia has the luxury of all their players operating in NRLW and the Aotearoa wahine crew was almost halved from the previous season (earlier this year), leaving a large portion of the Kiwi Ferns group in Aotearoa.

Kiana Takairangi starts on the wing for Knights and Dragons have Page McGregor at centre in the first semi final. The younger McGregor sister continues to be a funky player to watch and after making the final last year, McGregor has taken her running mahi from 61m/game up to 102m/game this season. McGregor didn't play in Knights' 30-8 win over Dragons last round and she will be eager to stamp her mark on this game, further establishing herself as one of the best centres in the world.

Roosters vs Eels features Broughton at fullback for Eels and this will be a fascinating fixture for Broughton. Eels suffered four consecutive losses before winning their last game against Broncos and that was enough to seal a semi finals spot, which does not suggest a dominant Eels campaign. Broughton's dynamic running game has been on display as she averages 121m/game and has 5+ tackle busts in four of her five games this season.

Broughton also has a 1 try, 1 try assist and 1 linebreak. This highlights Broughton's development route at fullback as her running from Sevens has translated nicely to rugby league, yet more play-making nuance will take Broughton to greater heights. This is unlikely to be on display in a high pressure finals match up against the best team this year (two seasons) and Broughton can still influence the game as a running threat.

How Broughton counters the kicking mahi of Kiwi Ferns halfback Raecene McGregor will be a key aspect of this game. McGregor leads Roosters for kicking metres after averaging less than 100 kicking metres per game in each of her first three seasons. McGregor jumped up to 128 kicking metres per game last season and is now averaging 207 kicking metres per game.

McGregor will be kicking to open turf and she will want plenty of hang time in her high kicks to ensure the kick-chase puts pressure on Broughton. McGregor has also exploded as a running half this season, going from 56m/game last season to 111m/game this season. More kicking, more running and McGregor also has the most try assists in NRLWahine this season with nine.

Leianne Tufuga is on the wing for Roosters and Mya Hill-Moana starts at prop. Tufuga hasn't played representative footy despite winning the championship earlier this year and her World Cup status will be an interesting wrinkle as she is among the best wingers in NRLW. Hill-Moana is a 20-year-old has already shown immense mana early in her career and she has gone from 80m/game last season, up to 100m/game this season.

Roosters are the leading contender and are chasing back to back championships. Tufuga and Hill-Moana have been low key excellent across the two seasons this year and with McGregor chasing her fourth championship in a row, expect her leadership to be highly influential in a classy Roosters outfit.

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