Aotearoa Kiwi Ferns are in the Pacific Championship final where they will play against Australia on Sunday and the Kiwis have a crucial game against Papua New Guinea to keep their spot in the upper echelon of the Pacific Championships.
New Zealand Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns put on an admirable show in Christchurch but weren't good enough to get a win against Australia.
New Zealand Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns play against Australia in Christchurch on Sunday, with both teams coming off wins over the Aussies in their last outings.
The New Zealand Kiwi Ferns defeated Australia in their last outing and while there are a few tweaks to the squad named this year, they are all improvements to showcase the excellence of women's rugby league in Aotearoa.
The New Zealand Kiwis squad has been named to defend their Pacific Championships crown with a combination of a hearty core, clear development channels and the regular dose of funky eligibility wins for Aotearoa.
All four teams in the NRL/NRLW Grand Finals have at least two players from or representing Aotearoa and that delivers lots of enticing wrinkles relating to New Zealand rugby league.
New Zealand Warriors enter the kiwi summer with three important trends framing their recruitment and development.
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 last time we checked in with Naufahu Whyte for a Kiwi-NRL Spotlight was after he churned out 68 minutes vs Raiders and while his mahi dipped for Roosters soon after round 12, the Bay Roskill junior was back near his best in the loss to Panthers last week.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are showing their investment in rugby league talent from Aotearoa with a bunch of NRLWahine locked in for their first NRLW season as well as a pipeline full of young ladies from Aotearoa.
The New Zealand Women Warriors have started to build their 2025 NRLW squad by signing Apii Nicholls, Mya Hill-Moana, Harata Butler and Capri Paekau, who have all played for Aotearoa Kiwi Ferns.
Leo Thompson and Griffin Neame are two young middle forwards from regional Aotearoa who helped New Zealand Kiwis roll over Australia, now they line up against each other in the first round of NRL Finals.
The NRLWahine wave continues to build momentum after the debuts of Tatiana Finau for Raiders and Sarina Masaga for Titans.
The 2024 Aotearoa Kiwis mixer needs an update after injuries to Brandon Smith and Dylan Brown, both of whom were penciled in as top-17 players for New Zealand.
Alexis Tauaneai was already shining in Aotearoa as a teenager playing for Wellington in the Farah Palmer Cup and since committing to rugby league, the 19-year-old has dominated every level except for international footy.
Despite not playing consistently in NRL or NSW Cup this season, Ali Leiataua was quietly simmering away in both grades before exploding with dominant mahi for New Zealand Warriors in their win over Cronulla Sharks.
There continues to be a flood of NRLWahine moving from Aotearoa and into NRLW with Tongan international Lavinia Tauhalaliku making her debut for North Queensland Cowboys in their loss to Brisbane Broncos.
For the second season in a row, New Zealand Warriors have a good NSW Cup team and they will be eager to make a deep finals run while the NRL team is kicking back.
Former Black Fern Tafito Lafaele hasn't generated the same headlines as Brisbane Broncos comrade Stacey Waaka and yet she is another wahine from rugby union in Aotearoa who is thriving in NRLW.
Sebastian Su'a made his NRL debut with Newcastle Knights in their win over Rabbitohs as the 18th man and almost spent more time in the sin bin than he did playing footy.