Taufa named in RLPA NRLW Players’ Dream Team

The Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) has today announced The Players’ Dream Team for the 2023 NRLW season – the best 13 players by their positions, as voted by the players.

The 2023 Players’ Dream Team for the NRLW competition is:

• Fullback: Teagan Berry
• Wingers: Jakiya Whitfeld & Annessa Biddle
• Centres: Mele Hufanga and Shanice Parker
• Five-Eighth: Tarryn Aiken
• Halfback: Ali Brigginshaw
• Props: Shannon Mato and Sarah Togatuki
• Hooker: Emma Manzelmann
• Second Rowers: Yasmin Clydsdale and Otesa Pule
• Lock: Simaima Taufa

St George Illawarra’s Teagan Berry and Sydney Roosters’ Tarryn Aiken become the fourth and fifth players to appear in the Players’ Dream Team twice. They join Millie Boyle, Amber Hall and Destiny Brill on two appearances in the Dream Team.

Fullback Berry, who was selected on the wing in 2021, joins Destiny Brill as the only other player to have been selected in two different positions. Brill was voted by the players as the best lock in 2021 and then the best hooker in 2022.

The year’s Dream Team is represented by nine clubs, with the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights, Sydney Roosters and Wests Tigers all featuring two players each. The Dragons, Sharks, Titans, Cowboys and Raiders are all represented by one player.

Clint Newton, the CEO of the RLPA, praised the 13 NRLW players voted by their fellow players to feature in the 2023 Players’ Dream Team:

“On behalf of the RLPA, I would like to congratulate the 13 outstanding NRLW players who have been voted by their peers as the best of the best in the 2023 season," Newton said.

“The 13 players in the Dream Team have come from a competition with more players than ever before, and the honour of being selected proves their incredible skill, determination and commitment. The fans of NRLW have been treated to extraordinary individual high-performance standards through 2023.

“The players continue to prove so much to us on and off the field about them as wonderful players and impressive people. Their displays of talent and sportsmanship are a credit to this current NRLW playing group, of which this group of 13 players is a testament to.

"The Players' Awards symbolise the convergence of fierce rivalries tempered by mutual respect. While players engage in intense battles on the field, they share a profound and authentic admiration for one another. They recognise, as do we, that rugby league is the most demanding sport on the planet, a reality they confront every single day.”