The Raiders are pleased to announce the final player in their top 24 squad, with Emma Barnes joining the club for its inaugural season.
Barnes impressed for the Queensland Rubys at last week’s National Championships on the Gold Coast, being named in the Team of the 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.
Barnes said she is excited for the opportunity and can’t wait to make the move to Canberra.
“I’m so excited. It hasn’t even fully sunk in yet, I have no idea what to expect or anything so I’m excited to get into it,” Barnes said.
“The second day of Nationals, I got told by my manager that Darrin was interested and then after the final game on Sunday we had a chat and then he offered me the contract.”
Raiders NRLW coach Darrin Borthwick said that he was impressed by Barnes’ performance at the event and is looking forward to having her in the squad.
“We left a spot available in our top squad for that rough diamond that would pop out and I went up to the Nationals last week and noticed Emma playing for the Queensland Rubys,” Borthwick said.
“She came off the bench as a nine and she was elusive, she was fast and really good around the ruck. On the back of that she got named in the Team of the Tournament as the starting nine.
“I’m really excited for her, it was a really good conversation to have with her on Sunday when I gave her the good news.
“I think to round off our 24 now with a player like that is just the icing on the cake. I’m really happy for her and like everyone else I can’t wait for her to get down here and meet all the other girls as well.”
With his top 24 now locked in, Borthwick is looking forward to getting the squad together next week to start pre-season.
“I’m not going to lie there’s a lot of people here who understand the process we’ve had to go through,” Borthwick said.
“Obviously without a CBA earlier on in the piece, to get 24 players now and to attract who we have and the quality, I’m really happy with what we’ve got.
“As I’ve said all along, I can’t wait for them to get here now and come together.”
