A new wave of wahine enter the Aotearoa Kiwi Ferns mixer with every NRLW season and the latest squad features more youngsters from New Zealand as well as the players from Australia tapping into Aotearoa mana. Kiwi Ferns once again have a squad full of NRLW talent and this includes players who dominated in their first dose of NRLW footy.

Mele Hufanga took over the Rugby League World Cup last year and parlayed that into a destructive debut NRLW season at centre for Broncos. Hufanga finished first for linebreaks as well as second for tries and tackle breaks. This came with fellow South Aucklander Annessa Biddle finishing second for post contact metres in her first season of NRLW, averaging the most post contact metres per game of all NRLW players.

Annessa Biddle (Otara) eats up Post Contact Metres#NRLWahine #NRLW pic.twitter.com/4sV6uuk3K8
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) September 7, 2023

Abigail Roache and Laishon Albert-Jones are certified Kiwi Ferns who churned out consistent mahi for Knights in their NRLW championship season, the first season of NRLW footy for both. They are joined by fellow Kiwi Fern Shanice Parker and Clifton junior Tiana Davison who crept under the NRLWahine radar. Davison came up through Taranaki rugby and after switching to league with Knights, Davison has won back to back NRLW championships alongside Parker.

More players are pursuing better opportunities in NRLW and there are plenty of players in this Kiwi Ferns who recently left rugby union. Davison is joined by Hawke's Bay youngster Amelia Pasikala in playing Farah Palmer Cup before moving to league. Tyla Nathan-Wong left Black Ferns Sevens and a strong season in the halves for Dragons alongside Raecene McGregor puts her in this Kiwi Ferns squad.

Cheyelle Robins-Reti played for Black Ferns, then Hurricanes Poua in Super Rugby Aupiki before moving to Raiders in NRLW. Kiwi Ferns veteran Apii Nicholls and Roache both played Super Rugby Aupiki for Chiefs Manawa earlier this year, while Hufanga was playing for Blues prior to the RLWC. Add in Leianne Tufuga who played for Auckland in Farah Palmer Cup a few years before her first season of NRLW in 2021 and eight players in this Kiwi Ferns squad played for Black Ferns, Black Ferns Sevens, Super Rugby Aupiki or Farah Palmer Cup.

Mele Hufanga's 6th try in NRLW - leading try scorer#NRLWahine pic.twitter.com/wbElszb1CG
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 21, 2023

Another linebreak for Mele Hufanga (Mangere) with Broncos. 8 games, 8 tries, 10 linebreaks.#NRLW #NRLWahine pic.twitter.com/AllWTw1a6O
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) September 9, 2023

Other hearty Kiwi Ferns include Georgia Hale, Mya Hill-Moana and Otesa Pule. The group of new Kiwi Ferns who are from Aotearoa features Dragons forward Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa who is from Auckland, Raiders play-maker Ashleigh Quinlan who is from Turangi, Eels hooker Capri Paekau who is from Te Awamutu and Broncos forward Jasmine Fogavini who is from Auckland.

Sharks utility Brooke Anderson is from Sydney and she has opted to bolster the Kiwi Ferns hooking depth alongside Paekau. Anderson has already played for New South Wales and Melbourne's Najvada George played for the Australian Prime Minister's 13 back in 2018, before settling back into NRLW last year. George played middle forward for Tigers this season and here's how the Kiwi Ferns squad breaks down by position...

Fullback: Apii Nicholls
Wing/Centre: Abigail Roache, Annessa Biddle, Cheyelle Robins-Reti, Leianne Tufuga, Mele Hufanga, Shanice Parker
Halves: Raecene McGregor, Tyla Nathan-Wong, Ashleigh Quinlan
Middles: Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa, Georgia Hale, Mya Hill-Moana, Najvada George, Amelia Pasikala, Tiana Davison
Edges: Jasmine Fogavini, Laishon Albert-Jones, Otesa Pule
Hookers: Brooke Anderson, Capri Paekau

Roache and Parker are versatile outside backs who can cover nearly every position. Expect Parker to slot in at fullback if Nicholls is unavailable and Roache could be deployed as a bench utility given the depth at centre. All three halves were starters throughout NRLW and the emerging depth of Kiwi Ferns play-makers is a significant development wrinkle. Pasikala dabbled in edge forward mahi for Roosters this season so she could cover that role, while Fogavini is also a versatile forward who has played wing, edge and middle forward in NRLW.

Albert-Jones and Pule were consistent edge forwards in NRLW so expect them to spend plenty of game time there for Kiwi Ferns. Teakaraanga-Katoa and Hill-Moana compliment Hale's style through the middle, which offers room for versatile and powerful forwards on the bench. The strength of this Kiwi Ferns squad is the fabulous combination of Hufanga, Biddle and Tufuga who are among, if not the three most powerful runners in NRLW.

Here is a breakdown of the Kiwi Ferns squad with grassroot/regional information...