New Zealand Women Warriors continue to build their NRLW squad by signing Laishon Albert-Jones, Emmanita Paki, Lavinia Tauhalaliku, Matekino Gray, Shakira Baker and Tyra Wetere. The first wave of four wahine were all Kiwi Ferns and that was followed by the signing of Kiwi Ferns edge forward Albert-Jones, giving NZWW five Kiwi Ferns in their first five signings.

Albert-Jones is from Auckland and has whanau connections to the Mt Smart temple. Like many NRLWahine, she is also an example of the strength of women's rugby league in Aotearoa as she earned an NRLW gig through her mahi on the local scene. There is also a successful relationship with coach Ronald Griffiths who recruited Albert-Jones to Knights, where they won the NRLW championship last year (second year in a row for Knights under coach Griffiths).

That connection with coach Griffiths is also evident in the signing of Paki, who is the only player not from Aotearoa to be signed by NZWW so far. Paki is from Rockhampton in Queensland and played for Knights in their first NRLW championship but suffered a major injury the grand final win which ruled her out of the 2023 NRLW season.

Without an NRLW contract in 2024, Paki's quality is evident in how she earned a call up to State of Origin this year for the deciding game which Queensland won. This sets the tone for second wave of NZWW signings as they all have clear indicators of talent, with Paki making her State of Origin debut at 21-years-old for a series decider, as the only player in that game who didn't have an NRLW contract.

Paki played on the wing for Queensland and she is likely to cover the outside backs for NZWW, although she also dabbled in the halves for Central Queensland Capras in the QRL Women's Premiership. Tauhalaliku will also be in the outside back mixer as she returns to Auckland to join NZWW after a whirlwind six months.

Coming out of Southern Cross Campus in Mangere where Mele Hufanga and Leka Halasima also went to school, Tauhalaliku impressed in rugby union and rugby league. After a few years playing both codes and earning higher honours like debuts for Kiwi Ferns and Tonga, Tauhalaliku joined a bunch of wahine from Aotearoa in the Manly Sea Eagles NSW Women's Premiership team this year.

Tauhalaliku only needed half a season to earn an NRLW opportunity with Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry snaring the Mangere East junior to join North Queensland Cowboys. The swift rise of Tauhalaliku fits into the theme of Aotearoa's wahine rugby league excellence as she went from local footy in Aotearoa, to dominating in New South Wales and then making her NRLW debut in less than a year.

In her three NRLW games for Cowboys so far, Tauhalaliku has a try, two linebreaks, 14 tackle breaks and she averages 141m/game. While her three games have all been on the wing, Tauhalaliku played centre for Sea Eagles where she was scoring tries for fun.

Gray went to Rotorua Girls High School where she played both rugby league and union before moving to Marsden State High School in Queensland to pursue better pathway opportunities. Those pathway opportunities included two years (2023/24) of Queensland Under 19 footy while in the Gold Coast Titans system, which is extra impressive considering that Gray made her NRLW debut for Titans as a 19-year-old.

After her debut in round four, Gray has played four games this season with 30+ minutes in three of them. Most notably though, Gray rolled through her third season of QRL Women's Premiership footy earlier in the year which stretches back to 2022 when Gray played for Tweed before switching to Burleigh. Gray is 19-years-old now so she was probably 17-years-old when she made her debut against the best women in Queensland.

Gray can play edge and middle forward, with limited attacking mahi in her four NRLW games this season. The flipside is that Gray loves to tackle as she averages 15.5 tackles per game in limited minutes coming off the bench, making a total of 62 tackles with just three missed tackles. There is a chance that Gray is a starting lock for NZWW but she could be a versatile bench forward who can cover both edge and middle.

The signings of Paki, Tauhalaliku and Gray shouldn't be overlooked as all three have played representative footy. Not only that, they have quickly progressed through Australian pipelines to earn their opportunities and they strengthen the rugby league foundations that NZWW are building.

On top of the rugby league foundations, NZWW have added Shakira Baker and Tyra Wetere. Baker is a Eketahuna junior from the Wairarapa and as a Black Ferns/Black Ferns Sevens representative, she spent the last two seasons playing for Hurricanes Poua where she was usually playing in the midfield.

Rugby union midfielders can be anything in rugby league as seen with Leo Thompson becoming an NRL prop for Knights and Matthew Timoko settling at centre for Raiders. Baker's best position seems like centre but she could add powerful running to the edge forward role, with Annessa Biddle offering an example as she is a centre for Sharks but played edge forward in the top-17 for Kiwi Ferns.

Wetere is the most intriguing NZWW signing so far. This is because of Wetere's skillset and athletic ability, as well as the nifty scouting from NZWW who went deep into the Aotearoa footy scene to recruit Wetere. Coming out of Mount Maunganui College, Wetere was a decorated junior in Bay of Plenty Rugby and she won the BOPRU Under 18 Female Player of the Year last year while was still at school.

She has dabbled in rugby league for BOP with game time in the halves. There are also appearances in basketball and plenty of athletics honours for Wetere, which along with play-maker mahi in rugby union, offers a compelling skillset for NRLW. Wetere's speed and running ability is evident in her highlights package, plus she could showcase her kicking and distribution skills for NZWW.

Wetere's best position seems like a creative half, especially if she is partnered with an organising halfback. At 18-years-old, Wetere is the youngest NZWW signing so far and the small sample size suggests that she is the most exciting signing with such dynamic athletic ability. Signing Wetere shows the reach of the NZWW scouting department and gives a small taste of how NZWW are identifying wahine with NRLW potential around Aotearoa.

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