David Middleton's 2024 NRLW Team of the Year

To celebrate the release of the 2024 Official Rugby League Annual, historian David Middleton has picked his NRLW 2024 Team of the Year.

Order your copy of the 2024 Official Rugby League Annual here.

2024 WOMEN’S TEAM OF THE YEAR

Fullback                           1. TAMIKA UPTON (Newcastle)

Wingers                           2. JULIA ROBINSON (Brisbane)

                                          5. STACEY WAAKA (Brisbane)

Centres                            3. TIANA PENITANI (Cronulla)

                                          4. ISABELLE KELLY (Sydney Roosters)

Five-eighth                      6. TARRYN AIKEN (Sydney Roosters)

Halfback                          7. LAUREN BROWN (Gold Coast)

Props:                               8. MILLIE ELLIOTT (Sydney Roosters)

                                         10. SHANNON MATO (Gold Coast)

Hooker:                            9. OLIVIA HIGGINS (Newcastle)

Second-rowers              11. YASMIN CLYDSDALE (Newcastle)

                                         12. OLIVIA KERNICK (Sydney Roosters)

Lock                                 13. ALEXIS TAUANEAI (St George Illawarra)

We are confident that there is no other women’s team on the planet who would come close to matching our 2024 Team of the Year.

It is a combination strongly flavoured by members of the Jillaroos’ team which cantered to victory in the end-of-year Pacific Championships (conceding only four points) but there are some notable variations.

We chose Kiwi Stacey Waaka as wing partner to Julia Robinson for the energy and impact she brought to the Broncos following her Gold Medal-winning effort at the Paris Olympics.

Waaka made a brilliant transition to rugby league from Rugby Sevens and helped spark a Broncos’ winning streak that carried them all the way to the finals.

An unfortunate injury (fractured fibula) ended her season in Round 8 but in six appearances Waaka scored six tries, and the Broncos won all of them.

Admittedly her arrival coincided with several team-mates playing their first NRLW games of the season but her enthusiasm and her value to the team was immense.

Luckless Lauren Brown would have been a walk-up to the Jillaroos squad but for a hamstring injury suffered in the Prime Minister’s XIII game and she was a strong chance of taking out the Dally M Medal until a broken hand ruled her out of the final two regular season games.

Second-rower Olivia Kernick, who took out the Dally M title after a superb NRLW season with the Roosters, was a stunning omission from the Jillaroos line-up in October but we have chosen her in our Team of the Year alongside Newcastle’s Yasmin Clydsdale, who maintained a remarkably high standard throughout the season.

Our fourth non-Jillaroos player was 19-year-old lock Alexis Tauaneai, who stood tall for the Dragons and impressed for the Kiwis in her first season at international level.

Tauaneai combined workrate with skill to make an impact in every game she played in 2024 and shapes as a key recruit for NRLW expansion club the Canterbury Bulldogs in 2025.

Fullback Tamika Upton, five-eighth Tarryn Aiken, prop Shannon Mato and second-rowers Kernick and Clydsdale return to our Team of the Year for the second year in running.

Although Aiken played mostly halfback through the season, she played five-eighth in State of Origin and her game changed little whether she was wearing the No 6 or No 7 jersey.

The line-up includes major award winners from 2024 including Nellie Doherty Medallist (State of Origin player of the series) Shannon Mato, Dally M winner Kernick, Karyn Murphy Medallist (grand final player of the match) Aiken and RLPA Players Champion Isabelle Kelly.

It also includes club players of the year Julia Robinson (Broncos), Tiana Penitani (Cronulla), Tamika Upton (Newcastle), Alexis Tauaneai (St George Illawarra, joint winner) and Olivia Kernick (Sydney Roosters).