What the heck – two previews? You know it! The NRLW is bigger and better than ever after a massive three team expansion in 2022. Most importantly, it now features the Parramatta Eels and that means TCT is on the job to bring you all the pre and post-game content you could ever need as the Blue & Gold look to be the first team ever to pry the premiership from the iron claws (hooves?) of the Brisbane Broncos.

Gol does such a sensational job with the NRL preview – seriously, best in the NRL type stuff – that I am almost ashamed to make liberal use of his formatting but much like the NRL itself it is a copycat league so here we are. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all! So, let us begin our journey into the NRLW together as the Parramatta Eels travel to Newcastle to take on the Knights in Round 1.

Dean Widders has a formidable group of women to call upon in 2022 that blends talent, youth and experience equally well. While we fans are still very much learning about the team and will continue to do so as they progress throughout the season, at first glance Widders has named a strong, straight-forward line up with no real surprises or doozies to speak of.

Of note though is the natural opportunity that comes with such large scale expansion in the competition. In no way is that better reflected in the fact that the Eels have named six players to make their debuts in the NRLW. Taina Naividi, Abbi Church, Seli Mailangi, Jocephy Daniels, Therese Aiton and Tommaya Kelly-Sines will almost certainly be running onto McDonald Jones full of nervous energy and with the blood pumping at a million miles an hour. Daniels and Kelly-Sines got a taste of the bright lights earlier this year in the NRLW All-Stars clash but there is always something about your first official game. Give ’em hell, ladies!

Game Info

Date: Sunday February 27, 2022

Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium

Kick Off: 3:40 PM, AEDT

Referee: Kasey Badger

Broadcast: Channel 9, Fox League, Kayo

Teams

Parramatta Eels

1. Botille Vette-Welsh
2. Taina Naividi
3. Tiana Penitani
4. Jocephy Daniels
5. Rikeya Horne
6. Sereana Naitokatoka
7. Maddie Studdon
8. Kennedy Cherrington
9. Nita Maynard
10. Tommaya Kelly-Sines
11. Ellie Johnston
12. Jade Etherden
13. Simaima Taufa ©

Interchange:
14. Seli Mailangi
15. Filomina Hanisi
16. Therese Aiton
17. Abbi Church

Extended Bench:
18. Christine Pauli
19. Fatahesi Hanisi
20. Tess Staines
21. Emily Curtain
22. Mareva Swann
23. Jamie-Anne Wright

Simaima Taufa truly lies at the heart and soul of this team and the Eels will be counting heavily on the serious gravitas of her leadership to bring this group of women together. She will not only lead a highly touted team but will also spearhead a fearsome unit in the middle. Kennedy Cherrington brings energy, aggro and quality work to both sides of the ball while Tommaya Kelly-Sines looms as the wrecking ball rookie that could potentially solidify the triumvirate as the best in the competition.

As Taufa brings experience and stability to the forward pack, so does Maddie Studdon for the spine. She will be the most important calming influence for Parramatta – knowing when to slow things down and when to hit the accelerator. Nita Maynard adds wile and craftiness from dummy-half while Bottile Vette-Welsh can tilt the field from fullback with her effortless speed and ball-playing. Sereana Naitokatoka couldn’t ask for a better trio of play-makers to hone her game with and hopefully their presence allows the young half to play positively and aggressively with the ball in hand.

The player who could break this game wide open for the Eels could equally lurk anywhere else among the line up. As I mentioned earlier, we fans will be learning and growing with this team as the season takes all of its twists and turns. As young players grow and stars emerge we will come to fully know them and appreciate their talents.

Newcastle Knights

1. Romy Teitzel (C)
2. Katelyn Vaha’akolo
3. Jayme Fressard
4. Bobbi Law
5. Katie Green
6. Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly
7. Tahlulah Tillett
8. Caitlan Johnston
9. Krystal Rota
10. Annetta Nuuausala
11. Rangimarie Edwards-Bruce
12. Georgia Page
13. Charntay Poko

Interchange:
14. Emma Manzelmann
15. Charlotte Scanlan
16. Phoebe Desmond
17. Kirra Dibb

Extended Bench:
18. Maitua Feterika
19. Kyra Simon
20. Ngatokotoru Arakua
21. Chantelle Graham
22. Kararaina Wira-Kohu
23. Paige Parker

Equally so, that journey means that I am brutally unfamiliar with our opposition this week. Jayme Fressard brings both crucial experience from her time with the Broncos to the Knights and the deadly ability to finish off a backline movement and has another highly credentialed partner-in-crime in Bobbi Law who has represented the Prime Ministers XIII. It seems safe to say that both players will be the fulcrums of their respective edges and pose serious challenges to the Eels.

Adding to the backline strike power is Katelyn Vaha’akolo, a dual code player with plenty of pace down the sideline while the team itself is captained from the custodial role as Romy Teitzel leads the team from fullback.

Key Players

Kennedy Cherrington

Kennedy played her backside off in the NRLW All-Stars game earlier this year. It was exactly the sort of performance I had envisioned she would provide when her signing was first announced and it shored up my belief that she will be a central figure for the Eels this season. On top of her tremendous motor, Cherrington brings honed aggression the team – the ability to attack with and without the ball. That is a premium commodity in either the men’s’ or women’s game and it will be an edge for Parramatta in 2022.

Bottile Vette-Welsh

One of the smoothest movers in the competition, Vette-Welsh just oozes class when she chimes in from fullback. The tonal contrast between her style and Kennedy Cherrington couldn’t more stark but by the same token it is why they are both so valuable to the club. If Kennedy is the hammer used to bludgeon our opposition into smithereens, Botille is the dagger that strikes in a flash.

Nita Maynard

Operating behind one of the most fearsome middle rotations in the NRLW, Nita Maynard has the chance to dominate in 2022. Maynard is never afraid to punish sloppy marker work with a cheeky scamper and those opportunities should come naturally and plentifully through the course of games this year. Equally so, her ability to provide clean service to the halves and edges will go a long, long way to defining the contest on Sunday

Prediction: Parramatta Eels 24 def. the Newcastle Knights 10

First Try Scorer: Tommaya Kelly-Sines

Player of the Match: Kennedy Cherrington

If you liked this article, you might consider supporting The Cumberland Throw.