Latest news with #ApiiNicholls
1News
7 days ago
- Sport
- 1News
Warriors wahine stumble to champion Roosters in NRLW return
NZ Warriors have quickly learnt how much ground they must make up in their NRLW return, succumbing 30-6 to defending champions Sydney Roosters in their 2025 season-opener. After a four-year hiatus forced by the Covid pandemic, the Auckland club fielded a largely untried team — only seven players had previous experience in the Australian competition — against the reigning premiers in Sydney. The Warriors weathered the early storm from their rivals, but conceded first points, when winger Payton Takimoana spilled the first pass from a tap restart inside her own 20 and Roosters winger Jayme Fressard capitalised in the opposite corner. Moments later, sevens star Michaela Brake made a meal of her first high kick in rugby league and Taina Naividi powered over for the Roosters' second try. Rugby convert Patricia Maliepo, playing at five-eighth, opened the Warriors account, from a sustained period of pressure on the Roosters goal-line, converting her own try to keep her team in contention. ADVERTISEMENT The Roosters kicked into another gear and Naividi had her second try, after the Warriors charged down a kick, but the ball quickly found Roosters star Isabelle Kelly, who carved through the backpedalling defence. Takimoana fielded a kick on her goal-line and was driven back for a dropout, and from the restart, Naividi picked up a first-half hattrick to put the titleholders ahead 18-6 at the break. The Warriors wahine played their first game back in the NRLW against the dominant defending champions. (Source: 1News) From the second-half kickoff, Warriors forward Matekino Gray was dispossessed of the ball and Roosters counterpart Rima Butler rumbled over from the ensuing scrum. As fatigue set in, the Warriors began falling off tackles or committing basic errors that had them constantly on the back foot. When captain Apii Nicholls spilled the ball in her own half, Fressard seemed to have her second try, but Brake did enough to drive her into touch, as the Roosters winger suffered a dislocated elbow in the process. Apii Nicholls of the Warriors is tackled during the Sydney Roosters Women v NZ Warriors Women. (Source: Photosport) ADVERTISEMENT Moments later, Nicholls threw a long pass beyond her winger into touch and the Roosters struck again through lock Olivia Kernick, as the scoreline began to mount. Naividi was denied a record-equalling fourth try by a forward pass and, at the other end of the field, former Black Fern Shakira Baker lost the ball over the tryline. The Warriors had other opportunities to add to their tally, but their hands let them down at close range. Brake could not find enough space to show her speed, but fellow sevens exponent Tysha Ikenasio was probably the Warriors' best, running for a team-high 168m, while Maliepo's unorthodox rugby skills translated well to league. Coach Ron Griffiths now has seven days to address the issues, before his team face Parramatta Eels — 18-16 winners over Cronulla Sharks in their opener — at Go Media Stadium.
NZ Herald
06-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Warriors v Roosters: NRLW round one live updates in Sydney
Follow the action as the Warriors make their NRLW return against the defending champion Sydney Roosters. Match preview After a near five-year absence, the Warriors are back in the NRLW. The Warriors were one of four foundation clubs alongside the Brisbane Broncos, St George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters when the NRLW was launched in 2018. They played in the competition for the first three seasons before the Covid pandemic's impact forced them to withdraw. Since then, the competition has expanded to 12 teams, and the Warriors face a tough task in their first assignment against the defending champion Roosters in Sydney. Captain Apii Nicholls is the only player to have previously played for the Warriors, with seven of the starting 13 named making their NRLW debuts, including former Black Ferns sevens star Michaela Brake. The side will be coached by Ronald Griffiths, who won back-to-back NRLW premierships with the Newcastle Knights in 2022 and 2023. The Warriors and Roosters played in the first official NRLW match back in 2018, which the New Zealand side won 10-4. NRLW games are played in two 35-minute halves. Warriors: 1. Apii Nicholls (c), 2. Michaela Brake, 3. Tysha Ikenasio, 4. Emmanita Paki, 5. Payton Takimoana, 6. Patricia Maliepo, 7. Emily Curtain, 8. Harata Butler, 9. Capri Paekau, 10. Lavinia Kitai, 11. Shakira Baker, 12. Kaiyah Atai, 13. Laishon Albert-Jones. Interchange: 14. Lydia Turua-Quedley, 15. Maarire Puketapu, 16. Ashlee Matapo, 17 Matekino Gray. Roosters: 1. Brydie Parker, 2. Taina Naividi, 3. Jessica Sergis, 4. Isabelle Kelly (c), 5. Jayme Fressard, 6. Corban Baxter, 7. Jocelyn Kelleher, 8. Otesa Pule, 9. Keeley Davis, 10. Rima Butler, 11. Mia Wood, 12. Jasmin Strange, 13. Olivia Kernick.
RNZ News
05-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
NZ Warriors wahine embrace unknown in NRLW return
Most of the Warriors women have never played NRLW before. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ As they emerge from a four-year NRLW hiatus, NZ Warriors women are determined to make the unknown their friend. A foundation member of the competition in 2018, the Auckland club was forced to close down its women's programme in 2020, when the Covid pandemic precluded trans-Tasman travel. The Warriors wahine will return to the fold on Sunday, when they face Sydney Roosters, fielding a largely untried line-up against the defending champions . Only one player - captain and fullback Apii Nicholls - has worn a Warriors jersey before and only six others have previous NRLW experience. The rest have either been plucked from NZ domestic competition or lured across from the other rugby code. "The best thing about our girls is, because they either rookies or new to the code, so they're oblivious to the Sydney Roosters and who's in there," veteran prop Harata Butler observed. "Let's not even talk about them. "Everyone in the rugby league community knows what we're going up against, but nobody knows what they're going up against. I think it's good to run with that and let's just see what we pull out on the weekend." The Warriors begin their campaign without the benefit of a pre-season trial to test their very new combinations. On the flip side, rivals have had very little footage to scout entering the new season. That mystery factor leaves a blank slate for the wahine to create their own reputations and, if training performances are anything to go by, they promise to leave a dent in their opponents. "If you meet our forward pack, I'm pretty sure there's a few loose screws in some of them, me too maybe," chuckled lock Laishon Albert-Jones, who helped Newcastle Knights, under now-Warriors coach Ron Griffiths, to the 2023 NRLW crown. "They're tough as, I don't even like running at them - I'm probably the most pussy of all of them. "I get scared at training sometimes, just saying. I'm glad they're on my team and I don't have to verse them anymore. "If there's anything we bring to this NRLW season, it's that we are a tough team and it will be a hard day with us, and you won't want to play us again." As the team strive to create their playing style, this much seems a given - they'll be physical. "To be honest, if you play rugby league, it's such a high-contact sport, everyone's got a couple of screws loose," chuckled halfback Emily Curtain, whose Muay Thai fighting nickname is 'Pitbull'. "My second personality, once I step over the line or the ropes, it's 'go' time," she explained. "Time to switch on and let everything out." Griffiths guided the Knights to two titles and a semifinal during his three-year tenure there, but he has put the league on notice that his new outfit will bring something completely different. "If you look at every Warriors team, they're tough," he said. "This team will pull trees up for each other. "They're connected, they work hard, they're humble, but one thing they've done is they've shown a certain level of toughness that we haven't seen in NRLW before. "That's not taking anything away from teams I've coached or the current champs or anyone else, but they're extremely tough, that's who they are." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Newsroom
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Newsroom
The Warriors' reluctant leader
When Apii Nicholls was offered the opportunity to return to the Warriors, a leadership role wasn't on her mind. 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.'
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Sevens star Michaela Brake named for NZ Warriors in NRLW return
Michaela Brake is among 10 NRLW debutants named against Sydney Roosters. Photo: Alan Lee/Photosport Black Ferns Sevens star Michaela Brake has been named on the wing for her rugby league debut, when NZ Warriors return to the NRLW against Sydney Roosters on Saturday. Coach Ron Griffiths has selected a squad featuring 10 NRLW debutants, including rugby converts Brake, centre Tysha Ikenasio, five-eighth Patricia Maliepo and second-rower Shakira Baker. Fullback and captain Apii Nicholls is the only player to previously appear for the Warriors , as one of the foundation members of the women's programme. Others to have played in the competition before include centre Emmanita Paki and lock Laishon Albert-Jones - who both won championships under Griffiths at Newcastle Knights - halfback Emily Curtain (Parramatta Eels, Wests Tigers), props Harata Butler (Cronulla Sharks, North Queensland Cowboys), hooker Capri Paekau (Eels) and interchange forward Matekino Gray (Gold Coast Titans). "We're very excited," Griffiths said. "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. "From our perspective, we're really looking forward to going up against a side like the Roosters to get a yardstick of where we're at. "We're confident we'll be a team that certainly has lots of fun with the football and, defensively, we're going to work very hard for each other." One surprise selection is teenage prop Ashlee Matapo, 18, who was not among the original squad, but was brought in on a development contract to cover for injuries and unavailabilities. The Warriors women have not had the benefit of trial matches and will take on the defending champion Roosters in a rematch of their inaugural 2018 game, when the Auckland club toppled the Sydneysiders 10-4. Warriors: 1 Apii Nicholls (c), 2 Michaela Brake, 3 Tysha Ikenasio, 4 Emmanita Paki, 5 Payton Takimoana, 6 Patricia Maliepo, 7 Emily Curtain, 8 Harata Butler, 9 Capri Paekau, 10 Lavinia Litai, 11 Shakira Baker, 13 Laishon Albert-Jones
