The NRLW season is about to begin and the hype around the New Zealand Warriors women's team will soon shock Aotearoa's sporting landscape. Not only have NZW added elite talent and established development pipelines, they have bunch of wahine who are already stars of New Zealand sport with an opportunity blast their way into greater prominence.

There are a few headlines about Super Rugby Aupiki getting the biggest crowd for women's domestic rugby in the new Christchurch stadium. While the previous best mark of 4,800 will probably be passed, NZW had three games with 5,000+ last year while playing in Hamilton. Not only have NZW already had bigger crowds in one season compared to the best that Super Rugby Aupiki can offer, those crowds were also the biggest NRLW crowds for standalone regular season games.

Add in how most of the NZW squad played rugby union at the Farah Palmer Cup level or above, which is amplified by the greater opportunities for women in Australian NRLW pipelines as well. Mainstream media still live in a world where rugby union rules everything and yet NZW are primed to offer another example of the shifting currents in Aotearoa sport.

Rugby union doesn't have the vibrant star power of NZW. That was already brewing last season and has gone up a notch this year with Mele Hufanga and Gayle Broughton adding championship mana, as well as star vibes to the NZW squad. Stacey Waaka is a well known wahine athlete who has been playing for Black Ferns Sevens this year and the moment she laces up for NZW, her profile will receive a massive boost.

NZW also have youngsters like Ivana Lauitiiti and Payton Takimoana who excelled in their first seasons of NRLW. That's more notable because there was no reserve grade for NZW last season which meant there was no bridge between local footy and NRLW for Lauitiiti and Takimona's first major dose of rugby league was her NRLW debut.

That's going to change this season as NZW have a partnership with Rabbitohs in the NSW Women's Premiership which starts this weekend (and features more NRLWahine talent than ever before). None of the NZW squad are named for the Rabbitohs' first game but there are a few curious players like Langi Veainu who played NRLW for NZW back in 2019 and Summer van Gelder who is from Auckland and spent the last few years with Bulldogs.

Those two could have loose links to NZW or they could work their way into the NZW mix along with any other Rabbitohs players. Van Gelder is the one to watch because Bulldogs recruited her from Auckland where she was playing for Mt Albert, along with the 20+ wahine from Aotearoa who have spent time in the Bulldogs system over the last three years.

Another player in that pocket is Asha Taumoepeau-Williams who dominated the junior ranks for Bulldogs while still at school in Auckland. She is one of three players who NZW have announced as development players along with Gezreyal Maiu'u and Patricia Heihei, all of whom played both rugby codes before settling with NZW.

Natalia Hickling is another youngster to watch out for as she is a play-maker from Australia who NZW signed as a 19-year-old. Hickling will sit behind the awesome halves combo of Patricia Maliepo and Gayle Broughton, so her involved with Rabbitohs will something to track, especially with last year's half Emily Curtain working with the Rabbitohs squad after her knee injury with NZW last season.

The addition of Hickling was mentioned in this yarn outlining how NZW have gathered plenty of halves depth throughout their pipeline. NZW have had no problems recruiting elite young halves from Australia on the men's side and now that's flowed into their women's group with Hickling embracing NZW as the best place for her development.

Much of this revolves around coach Ronald Griffiths who had NRLW championship mana before joining NZW and he has been crucial in laying foundations for NZW to take over NRLW and Aotearoa. Griffiths love of Aotearoa is evident in how he has joined the Kiwi Ferns coaching staff for their World Cup campaign, as well as his involvement in setting up camps for emerging women around Aotearoa.

Coach Griffiths did a great job last season in ensuring that the squad's depth was able to perform at the NRLW level, especially as injuries ravaged their top-tier. Now he has some of the best NRLW talent joining the squad at Mt Smart, a few deep cuts from Australia like Hickling and Jasmin Huriwai, freakish young talents from Aussie NRLW systems and he has helped established clear development opportunities for the next wave of youngsters.

The 2026 is much stronger than last season's squad and there will be players who were regulars last season who drop down a level this season. Here's how the best team could look...

Fullback: Apii Nicholls
Wing: Stacey Waaka, Payton Takimoana
Centre: Mele Hufanga, Tysha Ikenasio
Half: Patricia Maliepo, Gayle Broughton
Hooker: Capri Paekau
Middle: Harata Butler, Annetta Nu'uausala, Laishon Albert-Jones
Edge: Shakira Baker, Kaiyah Atai
Bench: Jasmin Huriwai, Ivana Lauitiiti, Matekino Gray, Maarire Puketapu

Squad

Backs: Emmanita Paki, Lavinia Tauhalaliku, Natalia Hickling, Tyra Wetere, Asha Taumoepeau-Williams
Forwards: Ashlee Matapo, Mya Hill-Moana, Metanoia Fotu-Moala, Felila Kia, Patricia Heihei, Gezreyal Maiu'u

Support our rugby league coverage by joining the Patreon whanau or donate through Buy Me A Coffee. A little goes a long way to fund our mahi. Smash an ad.

Peace and love.