2023 NRLWahine: Round Eight Preview
The latest round of NRLW action is already underway with Sharks defeating Dragons 16-8 last night as Otara's Annessa Biddle once again led her team for post contact metres. Biddle put up a whopping 15 runs - 205m @ 13.6m/run and made 17 tackles @ 94.4% as starting centre for Sharks, her third game with 200+ metres in her debut campaign.
Sharks also had Taniwharau junior Harata Butler coming off the bench for 11mins, 3 runs - 34m @ 11.3m/run and 8 tackles @ 100%. While there are four more games to be played this round, Sharks are now even with Dragons with 3-5 records sitting just outside the top-four bracket.
Wainuomata's Alexis Tauaneai didn't play for Dragons are suffering a knee injury last round and along with Biddle, Tauaneai has had an immense impact on NRLW in her first season. Dragons lost their best running and tackling forward in Tauaneai which is crazy considering she is 18-years-old.
Tyla Nathan-Wong scored a try and had a decent game as she continues to offer more kicking alongside Kiwi Ferns halfback Raecene McGregor. Cortez Te Pou scored the other try for Dragons as the Hawke's Bay youngster grabbed her third start this season with three tries so far. Kiwi Ferns forward Roxy Murdoch was also impressive for Dragons as starting prop.
The big game this round is a top of the table battle between Knights and Roosters on Saturday. Shanice Parker and Abigail Roache are starting centres for Knights while Laishon Albert-Jones is named at edge forward once again and Nita Maynard keeps her bench hooker spot.
Albert-Jones started the season as a middle forward before coming off the bench for three games and then settling at edge forward for the last two games. Knights have won all six games and the last two wins have seen Albert-Jones stack up 55 minutes against Sharks followed by a full 70mins against Raiders. Tackling at 91.3% efficiency this season will help Albert-Jones deal with the powerful Roosters forward pack and she may line up against Kiwi Ferns forward Otesa Pule who is in dynamic form.
Pule scored two tries with nine tackle breaks in last round's win over Eels. Now she is named to start her third consecutive game at edge forward for Roosters and is joined by Taniwharau's Mya Hill-Moana in the starting forward pack with Wairoa's Amelia Pasikala coming off the bench. Pasikala snuck under the NRLWahine radar after leaving Hawke's Bay rugby union to enter the Bulldogs women's system before being signed by Roosters NRLW.
19-year-old Pasikala has scored tries in back to back games and is averaging 65m/game, with at least three tackle breaks in three of her five games. Pasikala may be keeping Teuila Fotu-Moala out of the Roosters team as she is named on the extended bench again this round. Hopefully Fotu-Moala features so Roosters have four powerful forwards from Aotearoa in their line up.
The first game on Saturday has Tigers (2-5) hosting Broncos (4-3). Otara's Leianne Tufuga is named at centre for Tigers and she probably won't line up directly against Mangere's Mele Hufanga at left centre for Broncos, the same edge where Hawera's Gayle Broughton has featured this season. Broncos have Annetta Nu'uausala averaging 103m/game alongside Brianna Clark as starting props with Otara's Tafito Lafaele starting her NRLW career with 20-ish minutes in her first two games, averaging 71m/game.
Broncos have had a niggly week with two of their players battling major healthy issues, both of whom are from Aotearoa. Toni Hunt is battling cancer and Lavinia Gould who is now taking a break to be with her ill daughter. Learn more about this here and hopefully the NRLWahine Broncos can showcase their mana on the footy field.
The two Sunday games have Cowboys (2-5) hosting Raiders (4-3) and Titans (5-2) hosting Eels (1-6). Cowboys don't have any NRLWahine named and this skews things in favour of Raiders who have their regular crew of Apii Nicolls, Madison Bartlett, Cheyelle Robins-Reti, Mackenzie Wiki and Kerehitina Matua. All of whom have been fantastic this season, but watch out for Wiki who had two linebreaks and 250m in last round's loss to Knights.
Titans are third on the ladder and Auckland's Georgia Hale is the best tackler in NRLW. Hale has only missed two tackles this season and had 49 tackles without a miss in last round's win over Tigers. Hale also had seven tackle breaks and a try in her most dynamic running performance of the season, which takes her to a career-high 100m/game in her sixth season of NRLW.
Titans also have Auckland's Niall Williams-Guthrie holding down her centre spot and she has 14 tackle breaks in her last two games. Centre is the deepest position for NRLWahine this season and Williams-Guthrie is showing her class this season, although it's tricky to select one or two from this group as better than the others; Williams-Guthrie, Robins-Reti, Wiki, Hufanga, Parker, Roache, Biddle, Tufuga.
Eels are struggling this season but Taupo's Noaria Kapua keeps her spot on the bench. Unfortunately Capri Paekau (Te Awamutu) has dropped out of the top-17 and Auckland's Shannon Muru isn't named.
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