The 2025 NRLW season is approaching and the return of New Zealand Warriors combined with the growth of women's rugby league in Aotearoa means there is an abundance of NRLWahine talent on offer this year. Warriors Women wrapped up their top-tier squad with hooker Avery-Rose Carmont signed, plus they announced two more young wahine on development contracts in Sharnyze Pihema and Ivana Lauitiiti.

Pihema is a fabulous edge forward who was a joint winner of the Tahnee Norris Medal as the player of the tournament at last year's National Women's Championship in Australia. Pihema was playing in that event as part of the Ahi Ka Aotearoa team and the fact that Wainuiomata's Alexis Tauaneai won the award in 2023, highlights Pihema's potential and the quality of women's rugby league players from Aotearoa.

Coming out of Manurewa, Pihema has also played premier women's footy in Auckland with Papakura and also had a stint with Manly Sea Eagles in the Tarsha Gale Cup. Lauitiiti is a middle forward from McAuley High School while also playing for Otahuhu and Mangere East. The other NZWW player on a development contract is young play-maker Danii Gray from Mangere East who also had a stint in the Sea Eagles U19 team.

Gray and Lauitiiti made the 2023 NZRL National Secondary Schools team, which along with Pihema shining in for Ahi Ka Aotearoa and various other representative honours for all three gives NZWW strong development foundations. Carmont has also featured in a bunch of representative teams and as NZWW only had one specialist hooker on their roster in Waikato's Capri Paekau, Carmont gives the squad much needed depth in this position.

All three of the NZWW development players are from Aotearoa and there is space for one more development contract. 20 of the top-24 are from Aotearoa and most of the squad has NRLW experience or high performance backgrounds in rugby union. The only knock on the squad is that there are no players from the South Island but the NZW organisation has established development roots in the South Island and they are highly likely to tap into this emerging area of women's rugby league.

There aren't many NRLWahine from the South Island at Australian teams either, with Christchurch's Jaydika Tafua the leader and she hasn't played NRLW yet. The presence of younger wahine like Manisha Seebeck who is a Hornby junior playing for the Roosters in U19 Tarsha Gale Cup shows that rugby league does have a growing presence in women's sport down south.

Here is the updated NZWW squad starting with the most recent signings with the three development contracts at the bottom...

Avery-Rose Carmont: Otahuhu (Auckland)
Patricia Maliepo: Marist (Auckland)
Kaiya Atai: Richmond (Auckland)
Lydia Turua-Quedley: Ponsonby (Auckland)
Lavinia Kitai: Parkwood (Queensland)
Maarire Puketapu: Te Aroha (Wellington)
Felila Kia: Wynnum (Queensland)
Emily Curtain: Eagle Vale St Andrews (New South Wales)
Michaela Blyde: Clifton (Taranaki)
Tysha Ikenasio: Richmond (Auckland)
Payton Takimoana: Mt Maunganui (Bay of Plenty)
Kalyn Takitimu-Cook: Richmond (Auckland)
Makayla Eli: Manurewa (Auckland)
Metanoia Fotu-Moala: Otahuhu (Auckland)
Shakira Baker: Eketahuna (Wairarapa)
Tyra Wetere: Rangataua (Bay of Plenty)
Emmanita Paki: Yepoon (Queensland)
Lavinia Tauhalaliku: Mangere East (Auckland)
Matekino Gray: Rotorua Girls High School (Bay of Plenty)
Laishon Albert-Jones: Pt Chevalier (Auckland)
Mya Hill-Moana: Taniwharau (Waikato)
Harata Butler: Taniwharau (Waikato)
Capri Paekau: Turangawaewae (Waikato)
Apii Nicholls: Otahuhu (Auckland)

Development

Danii Gray: Mangere East (Auckland)
Ivana Lauitiiti: Otahuhu (Auckland)
Sharnyze Pihema: Manurewa/Papakura (Auckland)

Here is a basic position break down for the NZWW squad...

Outside backs

Apii Nicholls, Emmanita Paki, Lavinia Tauhalaliku, Tysha Ikenasio, Shakira Baker, Kalyn Takitimu-Cook, Payton Takimoana

Halves

Emily Curtain, Michaela Blyde, Patricia Maliepo, Lydia Turua-Quedley, Tyra Wetere - Danii Gray

Hooker

Capri Paekau, Avery-Rose Carmont

Middle Forwards

Mya Hill-Moana, Harata Butler, Matekino Gray, Metanoia Fotu-Moala, Lavinia Kitai, Kaiya Atai - Ivana Lauitiiti

Edge Forwards

Laishon Albert-Jones, Felila Kia, Maarire Puketapu, Makayla Eli - Sharnyze Pihema

2025 New Zealand Women Warriors Signings Tracker: Patricia Maliepo Joins The Wave

Here is all you need to know about the rest of the Aotearoa wahine who are locked in for the 2025 NRLW season...

Cowboys

Abigail Roache, Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell, Najvada George, Rosie Kelly

The NRLWahine crew for Cowboys are all new additions where they join Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry. Roache, Ormond-Maunsell and George have played for Kiwi Ferns, while Kelly is in her second season of NRLW after moving from Black Ferns to join Eels for last season.

Broncos

Annetta-Claudia Nu'uausala, Brianna Clark, Gayle Broughton, Mele Hufanga, Tafito Lafaele, Azalleyah Maaka, Kerri Johnson

Maaka and Johnson were recently announced to join the settled group of NRLWahine at Broncos. They both join NRLWahine from rugby union with Maaka coming from Gisborne and playing for Chiefs Manawa via Bay of Plenty, while Johnson is from Kaikohe and played for Auckland Blues via Northland.

Titans

Georgia Hale, Jasmine Fogavini, Ngatokotoru Arakua, Niall Williams-Guthrie, Sarina Masaga

Fogavini moves from Broncos to Titans to join fellow Samoan internationals Williams-Guthrie and Masaga. Masaga had a fantastic start to her NRLW career last year coming out of Howick in Auckland and she should settle for consistent game time this season. The combination of Hale's gritty mahi in the middle with Arakua's power will be fun to watch as well.

Knights

Fane Finau, Grace Kukutai, Isabella Waterman, Shanice Parker, Tenika Willison, Tiana Davison

Otara's Finau is promoted through the Knights system after leaving Auckland to play Tarsha Gale Cup and NSW Women's Premiership. Finau has been playing edge forward and centre for Knights in those grades and is likely to debut this year. Knights were boosted by the addition of Black Ferns Sevens' Tenika Willison last season, as well as Kukutai and Waterman who both joined from Super Rugby Aupiki. Davison started her NRLW career with Knights and returns after one season with Roosters, offering a hearty Waikato connection with Willison.

Roosters

Amber Hall, Otesa Pule

Hall and Pule are back with Roosters. Both have stacked up a bunch of games for Kiwi Ferns and are the only NRLWahine left after a few departures. This is balanced by Roosters having Seebeck and the Randwick duo of Te Raukura Leafe and Luca-Bella Ngatuere-Ongley in their Tarsha Gale Cup team that lost the grand final. This shows the Roosters investment in NRLWahine talent as Seebeck's from Christchurch while Leafe and Ngatuere-Ongley are from Wellington.

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Bulldogs

Alexis Tauaneai, Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa, Ash Quinlan, Maatuleio Fotu-Moala, Moana Courtenay, Paea Uilou, Sarahcen Oliver, Shaniece Monschau, Shaquaylah Mahakitau-Monschau, Shannon Muru - Waimarie Martin

Bulldogs are still the most active NRLW organisation in recruiting from Aotearoa and that started before they even had an NRLW team. Along with a bunch of wahine who have moved from Aotearoa to join the Bulldogs pipeline in the younger age grades, Bulldogs have promoted Oliver (Petone), Uilou (Katikati), Muru (Mt Albert), Moncshau and Mahakitau-Monschau (both from Waitakere College/St Peter's Cambridge) through their system.

Courtenay joins Bulldogs from North Harbour and the North Shore rugby club, while Otahuhu's Fotu-Moala made her NRLW debut with Dragons last season.

The Bulldogs NRLW squad will be led by Tauaneai, Teakaraanga-Katoa and Quinlan who are Kiwi Ferns representatives. Tauaneai was is an example of the Bulldogs investment in NRLWahine as she moved from Wellington to Sydney to enter the Bulldogs system, but as they didn't have an NRLW team she started her NRLW career with Dragons and now returns to Bulldogs.

Bulldogs also have Northland's Martin in their development contract tier. Martin appears to be from Panguru in the Hokianga and she played for New South Wales Under 19s in 2024.

Eels

Noaria Kapua

'Boss' Kapua stays with Eels and with the departure of Kelly she is the only NRLWahine in Parramatta. Kapua is from Taupo and while she is part of a sneaky massive Waikato crew in NRLWahine, Kapua is the leading rep from Taupo.

Tigers

Brooke Talataina

Talataina is from Auckland and made her Kiwi Ferns debut last year, mainly playing edge forward for Tigers.

Sharks

Annessa Biddle, Brooke Anderson, Jaydika Tafua, Tyla King

King moves from Dragons to Sharks to join Kiwi Ferns Biddle and Anderson. Sharks also have Tafua who is a Papanui junior from Christchurch and after a stint in Queensland she moved into the Sharks system where she has been building towards an NRLW debut. Tafua had a development contract last season and has been promoted to offer depth at edge forward.

Dragons

Nita Maynard, Pia Tapsell, Raecene McGregor, Trinity Tauaneai - Seriah Palepale

Despite losing a few NRLWahine, Dragons refreshed their group by signing veteran Kiwi Ferns dummy half Maynard and Tapsell. Tapsell was initially recruited by Sharks from rugby union where she played for Black Ferns but she didn't play NRLW and the East Coast Bays product was picked up by Dragons where she will probably play as a middle forward.

McGregor will be in the halves once again for Dragons. Tauaneai is the younger sister of Alexis and she was part of the Bulldogs recruitment drive from Aotearoa before shifting to the Dragons system where she has been playing in NSW Women's Premiership and Tarsha Gale Cup. Palepale had a similar journey as Tauaneai and after spending time in the Bulldogs system, the Mangere East junior moved to Dragons where she has a development contract for this season.

Raiders

Amelia Pasikala, Cheyelle Robins-Reti, Leianne Tufuga, Kerehitina Matua, Mackenzie Wiki, Madison Bartlett, Tatiana Finau - Claudia Finau

Raiders love Aotearoa and they have added Kiwi Ferns outside back Tufuga to their strong group of NRLWahine. Pasikala, Robins-Reti, Matua, Wiki and Bartlett all played NRLW last season, while Mt Albert junior Tatiana Finau made her debut last season and is joined by younger sister Claudia in the NRLW contract tier but Claudia seems to have suffered a signifcant injury and is unlikely to play this season.

Both Finau sisters were in the Bulldogs system after leaving Auckland which reinforces a common theme of NRLWahine development. Prior to having an NRLW team, Bulldogs were responsible for the recruitment and development of many young wahine from Aotearoa who then took up opportunities with other teams. Bulldogs still filled their first NRLW squad with players from Aotearoa who they recruited though and they have plenty more on the rise towards NRLW.

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