Early Sports Chat for 21 July 2025
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RNZ News
3 hours ago
- RNZ News
NZ Warriors rookie Lydia Turua-Quedley shares NRLW journey with long-distance partner, son
Lydia Turua-Quedley returns to her natural halfback position against Gold Coast. Photo: Brett Phibbs/ Like most of her NZ Warriors teammates, achieving her NRLW dream has not come without sacrifices for rookie halfback Lydia Turua-Quedley. Three weeks after making her debut off the bench in the Australian women's rugby league competition, Turua-Quedley, 26, will step into the starting line-up against Gold Coast Titans on Saturday, with incumbent Emily Curtain nursing a hip complaint. The journey has been a circuitous one, taking her through a season with the Auckland Storm rugby team, time off for childbirth, and stints in the Auckland and Queensland club competitions. She's shared that process with partner Paul Roache, who played four first-grade games for the Warriors in 2023, but now plies his trade at Burleigh Bears on the Gold Coast. "I've had to move back in with family, but we're really blessed and I'm truly grateful for our family's support with our son, Noah," Turua-Quedley said. "It's hard, but we're really lucky with the support we have. "There are definitely a lot of Snapchat calls and a lot of sending videos to Paul, just so he has that time with Noah, but in a different way." Last week, when the Warriors wahine took on Newcastle Knights across the Tasman, Roache drove seven hours down the coast to watch. Her first start also means a change of responsibilities - Turua-Quedley has previously deputised for hooker Capri Paekau at dummy half, but takes on a more familiar role in the No.7 jersey. Lydia Turua-Quedley made her NRLW debut against defending champions Sydney Roosters. Photo: Mark Kolbe/ "I'm normally a halfback anyway, so it's really exciting to get back there," she said. "I've learned we've got some deadly outside back and when we shift the ball to them, they're unstoppable. "There's a huge difference in the halves, you steer the ship a bit more, but that's my normal position, so it comes more natural to me than the hooker role. "It's truly a dream come true that I finally get my turn." Ironically, she will re-unite with former Storm teammate and rugby convert Patricia Maliepo in the Warriors halves. "This is like a full-circle moment and when she rocked up, I was, like, 'Oh my gosh, do you remember me?' Turua-Quedley said. "Back then, I wasn't a mum and I'm a much different person now, so she was buzzing out about how much we've both grown. "We've had the whole pre-season and also that history together." The Warriors women have had a daunting start to their return to the competition after a five-year hiatus, pitted against the two-time champion Knights and defending titleholders Sydney Roosters in their first three games, but her bench exploits have prepared Turua-Quedley for her starting opportunity. "I'm excited and more comfortable, because I didn't start straight away and got to ease myself into it," she said. "Going against the Roosters - the winners from last year - in my first NRLW game, I was so nervous, but now I know they have two legs and two arms, just like us." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Warriors match first major sports game to be mainly solar powered
The Warriors play at Go Media Stadium on Saturday night. Photo: Shane Wenzlick / Saturday night's Warriors match is the first major sports game in New Zealand to be primarily solar powered. An enormous array of solar panels on the roof of Auckland's Go Media Stadium are estimated to cut the facility's energy costs by $150,000 annually, and their first major stress test would be at the sold out match between the Warriors and Titans. Auckland Stadiums director James Parkinson said the panels had been soaking up the winter sun and would provide most of the stadium's electricity. "We've got the solar panels on the roofs of both the east and west ends of Go Media Stadium, and in total there's over 1600 panels up there," he said. "It's a significant installation and they can power over 60 percent of our annual energy needs." Parkinson noted the array of solar panels was unlike any other stadium in New Zealand, and gave the Australians a run for their money. "We believe this is the first of its kind in terms of a stadium in New Zealand, and even in an Australasian context our understanding is the scale of the installation we have here in significant relative to what exists elsewhere." And he said the cost would be recouped quickly. "The modelling that was done suggested a payback period of between six and eight years, and the early data that we're getting suggests it could even be shorter than that," he said. "There's that financial benefit that sits right alongside the environmental sustainability benefits as well."
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Venus Williams returns to the court
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams is back and making more tennis history. Playing her first singles match in 16 months, the 45-year-old became the oldest player to win a tour-level singles match since 47-year-old Martina Navratilova won at Wimbledon more than 21 years ago. Sport reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
