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Vanessa Foliaki

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Vanessa Foliaki
Personal information
Born (1993-08-20) 20 August 1993 (age 31)
Auckland, New Zealand
Height165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight75 kg (11 st 11 lb)
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2018–20 Sydney Roosters 11 0 0 0 0
2022 Parramatta Eels 7 1 0 0 4
2023– Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 9 1 0 0 4
Total 27 2 0 0 8
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–19 New South Wales 6 1 0 0 4
2014–17 Australia 6 4 0 0 16
2016 Women's All Stars 1 0 0 0 0
2023 Tonga 1 0 0 0 0
Source: RLP
As of 3 November 2023

Vanessa Foliaki (born 20 August 1993) is a New Zealand-born Australian rugby league footballer who plays for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Women in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Wentworthville Magpies in the NSWRL Women's Premiership.

Primarily a second-rower, she has represented Australia and New South Wales.

Background

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Born in Auckland, Foliaki grew up in Māngere, where she played rugby union before moving to Australia in 2010.[1]

Playing career

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In Australia, Foliaki first played rugby league for the Orange Hawks.[2] In 2014, Foliaki joined the Canley Vale Dragons in Sydney, and was selected to represent Australia and New South Wales.[3][4] In 2016, Foliaki moved to Queensland, joining the Burleigh Bears.[5]

In 2017, Foliaki and teammates Karina Brown and Sasha Mahuika left Burleigh to form the Easts Tigers women's team.[6] In December 2017, she was a member of Australia's 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup-winning squad.[7]

2018

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In June, Foliaki represented NSW Country at the Women's National Championships.[8] In July, she joined the Sydney Roosters NRL Women's Premiership team.[9]

In Round 1 of the 2018 NRL Women's season, Foliaki made her debut for the Sydney Roosters, starting at second-row in their 4–10 loss to the New Zealand Warriors.[10] On 30 September, she started at second-row in the Roosters' 12–34 Grand Final loss to the Brisbane Broncos.

2019

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On 21 June, Foliaki came off the bench in New South Wales' 14–4 State of Origin win over Queensland at North Sydney Oval.[11] She played three games for the Roosters during their winless 2019 NRL Women's season.

2020

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In 2020, Foliaki joined the Mounties RLFC NSWRL Women's Premiership team before moving to the Wentworthville Magpies in August.[12][13] On 25 October, she started at second-row in the Roosters' 10–20 NRLW Grand Final loss to the Brisbane Broncos.[14]

2022

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In early June 2022, the Parramatta Eels announced that Foliaki had signed to play for the club in the 2022 NRL Women's season.[15][16]

Achievements and accolades

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Team

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References

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  1. ^ "Kiwi league star's Auckland family 'very proud'". NZ Herald. 23 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Vanessa Foliaki and Kaitlyn Phillips named in Country Rugby League's side for Women's National Championship". Central Western Daily. 8 May 2019.
  3. ^ "2014 Women's Interstate Challenge". NRL. 13 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Kiwi turned Jillaroo: former Emus rugby star a hit in league". Central Western Daily. 6 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Burleigh Bears co-captain Karina Brown would trade maiden Jillaroos try for win over New Zealand". Gold Coast Bulletin. 11 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Sign on for Easts Tigers Women's team". QRL. 12 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Here we go: Foliaki, Jillaroos primed for World Cup bid". Central Western Daily. 9 October 2017.
  8. ^ "Women's Nationals the perfect Origin appetiser". NRL. 29 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Love on the line when Brown and Foliaki clash in Origin". NRL. 14 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Roosters v Warriors NRLW Round 1 preview". NRL. 4 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Blues v Maroons Womens Origin preview". NRL. 14 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Major state competitions kick off in NSW and Queensland". NRL. 8 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Broncos, Queensland contingent join NSW women in season return". NRL. 1 August 2020.
  14. ^ "From on the outer to a grand final: Foliaki's turnaround pays off". NRL. 25 October 2020.
  15. ^ "2022 NRLW Squad Announcement". Parra Eels. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  16. ^ Newton, Alicia (2 June 2022). "Eels find Vette-Welsh replacement with Olympic gold medallist". NRL. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
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