Double whammy
Cross-code rugby league and union stars score rare feat
TALLISHA Harden and Sasha Mahuika have achieved a remarkable sporting feat after claiming premierships with both their rugby league and rugby union teams.
Early last month the dynamic duo won the women’s Queensland Premier Rugby title with Sunnybank.
The jokes started soon after with their Burleigh Bears teammates that they could snare the double, and also win the SEQ women’s rugby league competition.
Harden said she and her partner Mahuika had pondered the possibility at the start of the year.
But last Saturday, after Burleigh claimed a strong 28-10 victory against Souths, neither of them remembered what they had achieved until Bears staff started to congratulate them.
“It didn’t really hit me until we got back into the dressing sheds,” Harden said.
“We were so overwhelmed. It was such a big, emotional ride that we didn’t even realise we had done the double.
“It says a lot about the culture of both teams. There’s a massive family aspect and a lot of us play for the family and support we have.”
Mahuika said she and Harden had put a lot of work into both sports, and the premiership double was a result of that effort.
“I am really proud of what we’ve achieved and know that a lot of hard work went into both seasons,” she said.
“Our teammates are absolute champions and such hard workers.”
Both Harden and Mahuika are hard workers themselves.
Not only do they play both sports, but Mahuika is also a teacher’s aide at a special needs school.
Harden works two parttime jobs, is in her final year of a Bachelor of Speech Pathology degree and is an NRL community ambassador.
And no break is coming for either woman, with a rugby sevens domestic tournament under way with their Sunnybank side.
Harden said while both of them worked hard to juggle all their responsibilities and find time for each other, she had no desire to give up either sport.
“It’s hard to leave now,” the rugby league Indigenous Women’s All Stars captain said.
“Especially when you’ve built up some really good friendships and connections with people, you just want to keep building that.
“We also want to set a platform so that younger girls can join and feel comfortable.
“It’s all about the development and being a good role model.”