2023 NRLW Signings Tracker

Keep up-to-date with all of the club’s signings for our inaugural NRLW season!

Simaima Taufa

Age: 28

Position: Forward

Previous NRLW clubs: Roosters 2018-20, Eels 2021-22

Simaima Taufa brings with her a wealth of experience in the women’s game, being one of the premier players in the game for close to a decade.

The 2017 Dally M Medallist has won two World Cups with the Australian Jillaroos in 2017 and 2021 and has been a mainstay in both the Jillaroos and NSW Origin teams since 2014.

She has played in all five NRLW seasons since the competition’s inception in 2018, spending the first three years at the Roosters and the last two seasons at the Eels.

Taufa has also started working for the club in Football Operations.

Zahara Temara

Age: 25

Position: Halves

Previous NRLW club: Roosters 2018-2022

Zahara Temara joins the club following five seasons with the Sydney Roosters, including being part of their 2021 NRLW Premiership win.

The 25-year-old represented the Jillaroos at the 2017 World Cup and the 2017 and 2018 Test Matches against New Zealand, as well as the New Zealand Māori All Stars on four occasions.

Temara has also played four games for the Queensland Maroons, as well as being the 18th player in 2022.

Monalisa Soliola

Age: 18

Position: Forward

Previous NRLW club: Dragons 2022

Monalisa Soliola is a forward on the rise, coming off the back of a breakout year in 2022.

The 18-year-old played her first NRLW season with the Dragons in 2022 and earlier that year played for the NSW Under 19’s team.

Monalisa’s father Bill is first cousins with club legend Sia Soliola, who played 137 games for the Raiders and now works in the club’s wellbeing and education department.

Ash Quinlan

Age: 28

Position: Halves

Previous NRLW club: Eels 2022

Ash Quinlan comes from a Touch Football background and has impressed in her short time in rugby league.

Quinlan was part of the Roosters NRL 9s team in 2020 before playing for the Parramatta Eels in the 2022 NRLW season.

The 28-year-old was recently part of the NZ Māori Ferns win at the 2023 All Stars event in Rotorua.

Quinlan has also won a Touch World Cup for Australia as well as several Trans Tasman titles.

Sophie Holyman

Age: 25

Position: Forward

Previous NRLW club: Broncos 2022

Sophie Holyman burst onto the rugby league scene during the 2022 NRLW season, joining the Broncos from rugby union.

By season’s end, Holyman was part of the Prime Minister’s XIII team that played Papua New Guinea last September.

Madison Bartlett

Age: 28

Position: Outside back

Previous NRLW clubs: Warriors 2019-2020, Dragons 2021, Titans 2022

Madison Bartlett is one of the leading NRLW try-scorers in the NRLW’s history with 11 tries in her 16 games.

The 28-year-old has also played four seasons of NRLW, playing two seasons with the Warriors (2019-20), one season with the Dragons (2021) and one with the Titans (2022).

Bartlett has played six matches for the Kiwi Ferns, including being part of their 2021 World Cup campaign.

Shakiah Tungai

Age: 26

Position: Outside back

Previous NRLW clubs: Dragons 2018-2020, Broncos 2022  

Tungai has represented New South Wales, Australia and the Indigenous All Stars since coming over to Rugby League from a Soccer background.

The 26-year-old has played four seasons of NRLW - three with the Dragons between 2018 and 2020 and one season with the Broncos in 2022.

Mackenzie Wiki

Age: 21

Position: Outside back

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Mackenzie Wiki represented the Cook Islands at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, scoring two tries in her three matches.

After touring the Raiders facility with her family late last year, Wiki then made the move to Australia from New Zealand soon after to start training with Mounties in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership.

Wiki is the daughter of Raiders’ legend, Ruben, who played 224 games for the Raiders between 1993 and 2004.

Hollie-Mae Dodd

Age: 19

Position: Second Row

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Hollie-Mae Dodd was the youngest player ever to play in the Challenge Cup final for the Castleford Tigers at the age of 16 in 2019.

The 19-year-old now plays for the York Valkyrie in the English Super League and won the competition’s Young Player of the Year in 2022.

The second rower also represented England at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, playing four matches, which included two tries against Canada in the second round of the competition.

Chanté Temara

Age: 21

Position: Hooker

Previous NRLW clubs: Broncos 2020, Roosters 2021-2022

Chanté Temara joins the club after playing with the Broncos in 2020 and being in the Roosters squad in 2021 and 2022.

The 21-year-old was part of the Broncos squad that won the 2020 NRLW Premiership and was also in the first Queensland under 18s team to play against New South Wales in 2019.

Temara was also named in the wider Queensland Maroons squad in the lead up to the 2022 Women’s Origin match.

Chanté is the younger sister of Zahara, who recently signed with the club and was announced earlier this month.

Tommaya Kelly-Sines

Age: 28

Position: Front Row

Previous NRLW clubs: Eels 2021

Tommaya Kelly-Sines is an Indigenous All Stars representative, with appearances in the 2019 and 2022 matches, including scoring the match-winning try last year.

She also played in the Parramatta Eels inaugural NRLW team in 2021 and was part of the NSW City squad that won the 2019 Women’s National Championships.

Prior to playing rugby league, the 28-year-old was a New South Wales and Australian Indoor Netball representative.

Felice Quinlan

Age: 24

Position: Outside back

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Felice Quinlan joins the Raiders on her first NRLW contract, after impressing at the Burleigh Bears in the BMD Premiership.

The centre has scored 13 tries in 10 games for the Bears in her two seasons playing at the club.  

The 24-year-old has a background in netball, touch and sevens and is the younger sister of fellow Raiders NRLW signing, Ash.

Ua Ravu

Age: 26

Position: Utility

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Ua Ravu is a Papua New Guinea Orchids representative and plays for the Harden Worhawks in the local Katrina Fanning Shield (KFS) competition.

Ravu represented the Orchids at the 2021 World Cup as well as the 2019 World Cup Nines and the nation’s two Test Matches against England in the same year.

The 26-year-old grew up in Leeton and now lives in Griffith where she is a Game Development Officer for the NRL.

Ravu attended the club’s Regional Women’s Skills clinic in Griffith in January and was also part of the KFS Academy that ran for six weeks earlier in the year.

Elise Smith

Age: 29

Position: Second Row/Centre

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Elise Smith was part of the Yass Magpies’ 2022 KFS premiership winning team.

Like Ravu, Smith attended the club’s Regional Women’s Skills clinic in Griffith in January and was also part of the KFS Academy that ran for six weeks earlier in the year.

Smith, who lives in Junee, started playing footy after she finished school and has played both Rugby League and Rugby Union over the past decade.

The 29-year-old has represented the Riverina Bulls in the NSW Country Championships in recent years and has also been part of the ACT Brumbies wider squad.

Apii Nicholls

Age: 30

Position: Fullback

Previous NRLW clubs: Warriors 2018-19, Titans 2022

Apii Nicholls has played three seasons of NRLW, playing the first two seasons with the Warriors in 2018 and 2019, as well as the 2022 season with the Titans.

The fullback has played in two World Cups for the New Zealand Kiwi Ferns in 2017 and 2021 and was named in the Women’s Team of the Tournament following last year’s event. 

Nicholls was part of the Kiwi Ferns World Cup Nines tournament win in 2019 and was also named as the NZRL Player of the Year in 2017.

The 30-year-old was recently part of the Chiefs Manawa team that played in the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season.

Before her rugby league career, Nicholls was a Cook Islands rugby sevens representative.

Kerehitina Matua

Age: 23

Position: Forward

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Kerehitina Matua played her first World Cup for the Cook Islands at the 2021 event, playing all three round matches.

The 23-year-old has also played two matches for the New Zealand Māori All Stars in 2019 and 2020.

Matua recently moved over to Australia from New Zealand to play for Mounties in the Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership and will line up in this weekend’s grand final.

Ella Ryan

Age: 20

Position: Halves

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Canberra local Ella Ryan played for the Waratahs in the Super W competition this season, having played the three seasons prior for the ACT Brumbies.

The 20-year-old was also part of the Australian Under 18’s Sevens team in 2019.

Ryan played her first season of Rugby League in 2022 for the Woden Valley Rams in the Katrina Fanning Shield (KFS) competition. 

Jessica Gentle

Age: 26

Position: Outside back

Previous NRLW clubs: Knights 2022

Jessica Gentle has achieved a lot in her short time in the game, after taking up Rugby League just last year. 

The outside back was part of the NSW Country team that won the 2022 National Championships, scoring two tries in the final as well as being named Player of the Tournament for the Open’s division.

The 26-year-old then signed with the Knights for the 2022 NRLW season and made her NRLW debut against the Dragons in round five.

Gentle was also named the 2022 NSW Country Women’s Player of the Year at the Brad Fittler Medal last September.

Prior to her Rugby League career, Gentle spent six years in Wyoming in America, playing Soccer and Rugby Union.

Tara Reinke

Age: 23

Position: Forward

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Tara Reinke joins the Raiders after impressing for the Easts Tigers in the BMD Premiership in Queensland.

The 23-year-old is in just her third season of Rugby League, playing locally in Gatton in her first season and having spent the past two seasons at the Easts Tigers.

The front rower has a background in Powerlifting, having held some Australian records since taking up the sport in 2017.

Ahlivia Ingram

Age: 22

Position: Forward

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Canberra local Ahlivia Ingram was part of the inaugural Raiders Tarsha Gale team in 2017 and will now be part of the inaugural Raiders NRLW team.

Ingram started playing Rugby League eight years ago in the Katrina Fanning Shield, with her past year being one to remember.

The 22-year-old represented the First Nation’s Gems at the 2022 National Championships before being selected to take part in a five-week NRLW Indigenous Women’s Academy at the AIS mid-year.

From there she was selected in the Australian PM’s XIII team that played against PNG in September and was also part of the Indigenous Women’s All Stars team earlier this year.

Petesa Lio

Age: 20

Position: Outside back

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Petesa Lio first started playing Rugby League in 2017 for the Minchinbury Jets and was part of the 2022 NSW Under 19s team in 2022.

The 20-year-old played her first season of the NSW Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership for Mounties in 2023 and was part of the club’s recent Premiership win.  

Grace Kemp

Age: 21

Position: Forward

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Grace Kemp is an ACT Brumbies representative who debuted for the Wallaroos in 2022 and also played in last year’s Rugby World Cup.

The 21-year-old is originally from Harden and has played the past four seasons in the Super W competition for the Brumbies.

Cheyelle Robins-Reti

Age: 26

Position: Outside back

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Cheyelle Robins-Reti brings plenty of experience to the squad, having been contracted to the Black Ferns Sevens and 15s programs in recent years.

The 26-year-old was recently part of the Matatū side that won the Super Rugby Aupiki competition in March.

Emma Barnes

Age: 19

Position: Hooker/halves

Previous NRLW clubs: N/A

Emma Barnes impressed for the Queensland Rubys at last week’s National Championships on the Gold Coast, being named in the Team of Tournament.

The 19-year-old has been part of the Wynnum Manly Seagulls team in the BMD Premiership for the past two seasons, including the side’s recent grand final appearance against the Burleigh Bears.