Why rugby star Gould said yes to Brisbane

After spending the early part of her sporting career playing rugby union for New Zealand, Broncos utility Lavinia Gould decided the chance to help drive women's rugby league into a new era was too good to refuse.

When Broncos coach Paul Dyer came knocking at her door and asked her to play in the inaugural Holden Women's Premiership, the 35-year-old crane driver could not turn him down.

Gould told NRL.com ahead of Friday night's NRLW clash with the Warriors in Melbourne that she wanted to be part of a history-making competition.

"For me, it is all about trying to help women move forward in sport and grow an opportunity for women," she said.

"It is about driving that for women, and to be a part of it I couldn't say no. It is definitely about the bigger picture. We have a very small opportunity here but if we do it well it sets it up for future generations which I am really big on."

Gould has two daughters with the oldest, 14-year-old Kaia, bravely battling a serious illness.

"Fitting this all in has been a real juggling act for me. [Kaia] has a kidney disease so she is on a dialysis machine every other day. It is pretty full-on but she handles it really well so that makes it easier as a parent to deal with that," she said.

"Having [rugby league] is something for me to do outside of that as well. For me, just getting through season-to-season with all that happening behind the scenes is where I am at currently. I'm putting everything into what I am doing now."

Gould, who has been living in south-east Queensland for the last 18 months, represented the New Zealand Black Ferns in 15-a-side rugby, the national Sevens side and the Queensland Reds in a 15-year union career.

"To be brutally honest, I'd played no league at all until my first ever game this year [against PNG]," she said.

"Leading into that my nerves were high but I have got massive support behind me with the coaches, the management and with the girls.

 "It was just a matter of transitioning and taking my rugby brain out of it and running more straight lines, because I tend to drift quite a bit.

"At the Broncos I have played mostly at lock which was a surprise to me. Hopefully, I have done a good job. I think I have. I'm looking to cover hooker and halves as well."

Coach Dyer said Gould had a "wonderful work ethic" and was an outstanding athlete whose record in rugby union spoke for itself.

"I had watched her play and a couple of guys had given me the tip that she was a handy rugby player who would suit rugby league because she is very good with one-on-one contact," he said.

"She was always a girl who was in our thoughts and when we sat down with her it only re-confirmed that I wanted her at the club.

"Vinnie is a fantastic person away from the field, a fantastic mother to her children and all the hard work she does, to fit in around her family and working life to be a good player, is evident in what you see every weekend."

Brisbane winger Meg Ward will miss the clash with the Warriors with an injured hand. She is expected to play in the grand final the following week if Brisbane go through as expected.