The Warriors' reluctant leader
But after her contract was signed and the season got closer, head coach Ron Griffiths surprised the 32-year-old fullback by offering her the captaincy for the side's return to the NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) for the first time since 2020.
'I was told a week before our [season] launch. Ron and I met up for breakfast and it was more like planning the week, and then he asked me. Prior to that, last year, before I signed my contract, I had made an agreement with him that he wouldn't put me in any leadership group or have any leadership responsibilities as it wasn't something that I aspired to do, so it was a shock, but now I'm really, really grateful that I took that opportunity,' Nicholls says.
'The main point that I got from him was that he really saw me as a leader and that I lead by my actions and I train the way I play. He wants me to support the younger girls. He felt I'd be the best fit for the role.'
The Warriors were one of four foundation clubs when the NRLW was launched in 2018, alongside the Brisbane Broncos, St George Illawarra and the Sydney Roosters and they took part in the first three seasons of the competition, before the impact of the Covid pandemic saw them withdraw. After extensive work behind the scenes, March 2024 saw the announcement that Warriors fans had been waiting for; they would return to the now expanded 12-team league in 2025.
The side will open their 11-game regular season campaign in Sydney on Sunday afternoon against the 2024 premiership-winning Roosters. It's a repeat of their first NRLW game in 2018, which the Warriors won 10-4.
After that, they will play their first home game of the season on July 13 at Go Media Stadium in Auckland against the Paramatta Eels. It's part of a double header that day at Mt Smart, with the men's side facing Wests Tigers afterwards. They will play a second game at the ground against the Gold Coast Titans on July 26, with their remaining three home games taking place at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton.
Nicholls was a member of the Warriors team in both 2018 and 2019, appearing in each of the club's six games in those two years before later linking up with the Gold Coast Titans and then the Canberra Raiders in an expanded competiton. She is the only player in the 2025 squad who has previously played for the club.
As well as that, with 28 NRLW games and 16 Tests for the Kiwi Ferns, she has the most rugby league experience in a squad which features a mix of fellow NRLW players, others who have switched from rugby union, such as Black Ferns Sevens star Michaela Brake, and rugby league players from local competitions in New Zealand and Australia.
Crucial to their recruitment strategy has been Nadene Conlon, the club's NRLW academy manager, as well as head coach Griffiths, who won NRLW titles with the Newcastle Knights in 2022 and 2023.
'We're very excited. We have a diverse range of cultural backgrounds and a diverse group of players with 75 percent of them not playing NRLW in the past 12 months,' Griffiths says.
Mother of two Nicholls has been delighted with her return to the club where it all began, and is happy both on and off the field.
'It's been really good. I think the biggest thing for me returning back was mainly for my family and the kids. My oldest boy is now at college and it's hard for him to be with me full time, so being back with them and just being able to drop them off at school, and attend their [sports] training, it makes me realise just how much I've been away from them, so that's been really nice' she says.
'In terms of the footy side of things, I think it's just the least I could do for the club, for everything that they've done for me. That's where my career started so it's really cool coming back and giving back to them and being a part of a new group of girls, fresh faces, some that haven't played league before so I just feel really grateful to be able to share some knowledge and teach everything that I've been taught these last few years.'
Those past few years included a six-game spell at Chiefs Manawa in Super Rugby Aupiki in 2023 and 2024. Despite limited opportunities, Nicholls grew from the experience.
'Rugby union has definitely helped me. They are very professional and have helped me in that space. Also, skillwise, they do a lot of technical stuff which helps my transition [back] to rugby league. I didn't get much game time when I was in the rugby space, but I'm really grateful for the opportunity,' she says.
Outside rugby, Nicholls has worked for the police, joining in 2018. Back then, a colleague of hers at Vodafone, where she was working at the time, was trying to get into the police and he encouraged her to apply as he thought she'd be great there. She subsequently applied and a couple of years later joined.
Nicholls is currently an acting sergeant, rostered for eight hours a day, four days a week, but during the season she is planning to cut that down to three days a week to assist her match recovery.
'Every day [in the police] is different and you get to help a lot of people. It teaches you resilience. You go through a lot physically and mentally. In your first couple of years, you're working shifts and that was really tough. I was away from family and you're not able to train or perform when you're doing shift work. But after a couple of years, you get to explore other work groups and that's where I am right now,' Nicholls says.
'It's been good. The kind of work group that I'm in now allows me to play and train and I think juggling that as well as the kids and family, it's quite taxing on the body, but with the support network that I have, I've just been able to get through.'
Nicholls is under no illusions of how difficult the Warriors' first season back in the competition will be but is looking forward to the challenge.
'I'm just hoping the girls have a fun season. There's a lot of them that have never played at this level before, so I just want to make sure that they feel supported and that I can bring the best out of them. I know that it's going to be tough for all of us, but we're just going to keep building as each game goes by and also celebrate all the good stuff that we've done.'
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