NRLW set for international flavour as clubs eye World Cup stars

Teenage England secondrower Hollie Dodd is among a host of overseas stars considering a move to the NRLW next season as clubs target World Cup talent for the expanded competition.

With Canberra, Cronulla, North Queensland and Wests Tigers joining the 10-team Telstra NRL Women’s Premiership, there are 100 additional roster spots to fill in 2023 and most clubs were watching the World Cup closely for new talent.

“That is the reason I was there, and there was some good talent in all of the teams,” Sydney Roosters coach John Strange told NRL.com.

While all of the Jillaroos and most of the Kiwi Ferns play in the NRLW, the World Cup provided an opportunity for clubs to assess players from other nations.

A number have since expressed a desire to move to Australia to further their playing careers.

Among them are Brazil captain Maria Graf, prop Franciny Amaral, who was named in the RLWC2021 team of the tournament, and halfback Byanca Santa Rita.

Several English players are believed to be keen on playing in the NRLW next season.

“I think there are probably half-a-dozen English players, or more, who could play in the NRLW,” said Cowboys coach Ben Jeffries, who was in charge of Papua New Guinea at the World Cup.

“The fullback Francesca Goldthorpe, their left winger Leah Bourke and their whole backrow of Hollie Dodd, Emily Rudge and Jodie Cunningham impressed me. Those three were real workers.

“Georgia Roche, the five-eighth, is another and I didn’t mind [prop] Olivia Wood either so there is plenty of potential in the England team.”

NRL.com is aware of five clubs who have inquired about 19-year-old Dodd's ambition to play in the NRLW next season.

Goldthorpe, who is also just 19 years of age, 22-year-old Roche – the inaugural Woman of Steel winner in 2018 – and Wood, 21, are also understood to have attracted interest from NRLW clubs.

“I know a lot of our players would go over there and thrive," England's World Cup coach Craig Richards said after his side's semi-final exit.

“Some of the girls are ambitious and they do occasionally mention it. I’ve had to have one on ones with one or two players and my feedback is always honest - 'you are good enough without a shadow of a doubt'." 

Canberra coach Darrin Borthwick revealed last week the club had targeted players from the England squad, as well as other nations, including Cook Islands fullback Mackenzie Wiki, the daughter of Raiders and Warriors great Ruben Wiki.

“We’ve been talking to a couple of English girls. They feel welcome here and probably the conditions as well might suit them,” Borthwick said.

However, it is not just English stars who caught the eye of NRLW clubs, with Strange and Jeffries believing there were players in every World Cup team with the potential to play NRLW next season or in the future.

“Obviously, Mele Hufanga, the centre from New Zealand, jumped out at everyone,” Strange said. “I think she is looking for an opportunity in the NRLW and without a doubt she will get one.

“I thought Jessikah Reeves in the Papua New Guinea side was a standout, and France had a really good frontrower [Leila Bessahli], who got concussed in their first game.

“That ruled her out of the tournament, which was a shame for them and obviously for her because she had some potential. The French held New Zealand for a long time in the first half and I thought she was their best player.

“April Ngatupuna lives in Queensland but she was with the Cook Islands and I was impressed with her. Maddy Aberg from Canada was another who was impressive. She played a bit of centres, backrow and through the middle.

“I am not that concerned about whether players know how to play the game, it was more looking for potential. A good example is Jocelyn Kelleher, who is with me at the Roosters.

“I found her playing for Killarney Vale Bombers AFL club a few years ago and just asked her if she wanted to come and trial. Now she is one of the better players in the NRLW.”

State comps a path to NRLW 

Jeffries said after the Orchards bowed out of the World Cup with a semi-final loss to Australia that his players had effectively been on trial during the six weeks they had been in camp.

However, he believes most players from developing nations such as Brazil, Canada, France and Papua New Guinea will need to play in the NSW or Queensland state competitions before being considered for NRLW contracts.

“We went and watched Brazil’s trial against France and they competed really well. I was quite impressed, but I think the back-to-back games and short recoveries took its toll in the end,” Jeffries told NRL.com.

“Probably the pick for me was their halfback, Maria Graf. She spoke very well, even though she didn’t speak too much English.

“When it came to Canada, I thought the No.13, Megan Pakulis, was good and Maddy Aberg was breaking tackles for fun.

“Some of the girls need to understand it could take two or three years for them to crack the NRLW, so they need to persevere.

“For their development they need to have consistent coaching, consistent reinforcement, consistent training to test themselves on a weekly basis and get used to the intensity needed to get to that next level.”

French centre Lauréane Biville moved to Australia in 2019 with the aim of playing in the NRLW and she was joined in 2020 by Canada captain Gabrielle Hindley [North Sydney Bears] and England's 2017 World Cup prop Charlotte Booth.

Biville, who now plays for Wigan, and Hindley were forced to return home due to COVID but Booth stayed - forfeiting her World Cup ambitions in the process - and she currently plays for South Sydney.

"I managed to play two trial games and we played our first match, and after that the comp got stopped," Hindley told NRL.com.

"That was on March 17, [2020]. I recall that in my mind as the day it ended. It was like doomsday. I caught the last direct flight from Australia to Canada in April, and it was very surreal.

"We are all looking for that opportunity to grow and when we don't have the same opportunities in Canada to play at that level we look abroad and that is why I went. I'm always open to new opportunities so it is something I would consider again."

Amazonas chase NRLW dream

Brazil captain Maria Graf and Amazonas team-mates Franciny Amaral and Byanca Santa Rita, who was injured in the warm-up match against France, have launched fundraising campaigns to help them relocate to Australia next season.

“The thing that impressed me about the Brazilian, Canadian and French teams was that they were just tough girls who just kept going,” Strange said. “It was pretty inspirational to be honest.

“You could see the lack of understanding of the game, compared to the Australian girls anyway, but their toughness was unbelievable.

“I think that after the World Cup a lot of girls would be keen to come over. It depends on whether they can afford it or whether a club wants to fund it, but I think for sure we will see a lot more in the state-based comps in the new year.”

Jeffries said a number of PNG players were NRLW ready, but the Orchids would benefit significantly from a women’s domestic competition, similar to the Digicel Cup, and a Hunters equivalent playing in the Queensland state competition.

“When you have got a nation who lives and breathes the game, and it is their No.1 sport, there is plenty of potential there,” Jeffries said.

“They just need to be exposed more and there are a couple in the World Cup squad I can see playing NRLW.

“I have had Jess Reeves through the Queensland pathways system and she was our player’s player at the World Cup.

"[Prop] Essay Banu and [five-eighth] Sera Koroi are others, and [centre] Shellie Long has been a rookie development player [at the Dragons]. I can certainly see her playing NRLW at some point.”