The Brisbane Broncos will be hoping new recruit Stacey Waaka brings the golden touch with her when she makes her NRLW debut this weekend against the Titans.
Fresh from winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics with the New Zealand rugby sevens team, Waaka joined the squad at Red Hill earlier this week and is keen to play her first game of rugby league.
“Was at the Olympics last week, and now we're here, I probably didn't expect it, but training was so cool last night,” Waaka said.
“I'm nervous as. It's something new for me. A big challenge, but the girls have just made me feel so welcome, so at home.
“I’m just keen to give it a go.
“I’m here to learn lots, take what I’ve learnt and hopefully help some of the girls and vice versa.
“I've been playing for New Zealand 10 years now and it is quite a long time and it's cool, it's fun. It's comfortable. I love what I do.
“But here I've seen some of my friends come over and just excel.
“It's been amazing watching them play and do well, so I'm like, ‘cool, you've inspired me, and you've motivated me to come and do the same thing’ ... so I'm glad to be here."
Coach Scott Prince has wasted no time getting his star recruit into the action, naming her on the wing, and her inclusion coincides with a return to the Brisbane lineup from her former sevens teammate Gayle Broughton who she won gold with at the Tokyo Olympics.
The five-eighth, who will partner with captain Ali Brigginshaw in the halves, has been sidelined for the opening rounds after recovering from off-season surgery for a back injury.
“They're obviously best mates and part of the recruitment; Gayle played a massive role in that as well,” Prince said.
“Having Gayle back in our team steadies the ship, allows Ali to focus on her job.
“Just her presence in itself brings a lot of confidence to our side.
“With Stacey, obviously she is quite the athlete in regards to her code in rugby, but then just the excitement that she'll bring within the team.
“You could see last night in training, just the speed and agility.
“When you have players like that in your football team, it brings excitement, brings confidence and just her presence being out there on the flank, she can run the length of the field to score points.
“She's a key player in our team and that's the reason why we went out for her services.”
Since her arrival, Waaka has been learning more about the game from Broughton, and is also well aware of the challenge that lies ahead in her debut game coming up against the undefeated Titans.
The Broncos have lost their opening two matches where they have paid the price for poor discipline, but did show improvements against the Roosters last week.
“Had a bit of a homework session with G yesterday for a few hours, just getting to learn the playbook, but feeling a bit more confident after that,” Waaka said.
“I was actually in the review session (of the Roosters game); it’s only a few little tweaks.
“And if I'm being honest, there are a lot of errors from ourselves, so if we can tidy those up, then I think we'll be sweet heading into this weekend against the Titans.
“I am very excited to play against my old teammate Niall [Williams-Guthrie], she’ll be pretty good running around on the field; looking forward to it.”
Waaka is the only athlete returning from Paris to be selected in a starting line-up for this weekend, but New Zealand teammates Tyla King (Dragons) and Tenika Willison (Knights) have also been named in the extended squads for their sides and could be late inclusions for their sides.
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