First appearance in grand final targeted

WELLINGTON: Warriors captain Georgia Hale did not know most of her teammates or really her coach until a week ago.

The backrower is one of five New Zealandbased players who have temporarily moved to Sydney to see out the NRLW season.

The rest of the Warriors team is made up of Australian representatives in league and rugby sevens as well as some newcomers to elite sport.

Hale said the players' differences were what helped to bring together the diverse squad in a short space of time ahead of the season opener.

‘‘We definitely have a fruit bowl of players — obviously the five that have come over from New Zealand, the inclusion of our two sevens girls and then both Queensland and New South Wales players, obviously all very different cultures, different heritage, different upbringings but I think that's been the one thing we've really highlighted and which has helped us build our culture over the last week.’’

New coach Brad Donald has a few hurdles to overcome in his first NRLW appointment, including getting his game plan across to some young players and league converts who would not have had an opportunity to play this season had Covid19 not changed the game.

Donald's first team for tomorrow afternoon's game against the defending champion Brisbane Broncos will feature six players on NRLW debut and 12 players playing for the Warriors for the first time.