Werribee Bears Women's Finals Preview

After two Covid disrupted seasons, the Werribee Bears are finally back playing finals football in 2022.

It's been far from smooth sailing this year with injuries and unavailability taking its toll on the club at certain points during the season.

This is a side that easily could’ve rolled over and thrown in the towel but instead, here they are preparing for a Qualifying Final and a chance to book their spot in the Storm Premiership Grand Final.

With a wealth of experienced talent leading the charge, Werribee’s ability to grind out tough and ‘ugly’ victories has seen them stand out from the crowd this season. In Werribee’s last four matches played, they’ve gone on to win by six-points or less. A stat that underpins just what Bears rugby league is all about.

Werribee Bears captain Tiani Kani was full of praise for her side, crediting their resilience and ability to take on any challenge thrown their way.

“It feels great to take out top spot, especially with the last few seasons that have been cut short,” she said.

“Coming into this season it was all pretty unpredictable for a lot of our team, we started off with eight players coming through and so to go through and finish on top of the ladder is a big achievement for our team and club as a whole,” Kani said.

Werribee will be looking to draw on all of their experience when they take on a young Altona side this Saturday.

Alongside sister Georgina Moana, Kani has been instrumental for the Bears this season, with both girls wealth of experience playing a big factor in the Bears ability to close out close games this season.

Kani said that with plenty of new faces around the squad this season, the opportunity to help new players develop and learn the game has been a rewarding process and something she hopes will help to continue to grow the game down in Victoria.

“For me it’s amazing to have those girls that have never played the sport come take part this season, as in the beginning they lacked a lot of confidence and belief in themselves,” the Bears captain said.

“They’ve gone from being thrown in the deep end of a sport they’d never heard of before to progressing to where they are now so it’s a really proud moment,” she said.

“For all the new players, I’d love to see them come back next year and even trial for the state side if they’re ever interested.”

Werribee have been boosted by the emergence of young talent this year, with the likes of 18-year old Drew-Jade Moana and 19-year old Jade Te Aute both stepping up into the Women’s division.

“They are the two youngest players in our side and to watch them grow in the sport from where they started to where they are now, these girls are going to be the next leading females in rugby league for women down in Melbourne," Kani said.

When they face the Roosters at Casey Fields for their Qualifying Final, Kani believes her side has the quality to get the job done regardless of the adversity they may face on Saturday.

“Coming into this game, we are going to muscle up and run with whatever is thrown our way, it’s all about trusting and believing in our team,” she said.

“I really hope the girls can pull through, for a lot of this team they're experiencing finals for the first time, so I’m excited to see the look of the girls when they finally hit the big stage.”

“We are coming up against a very young and versatile Altona side so I wouldn’t put it past them as they are a really good team,” she said.

“It’s up to us to play our own game as while they are probably a younger and fitter team, we have a lot of experience in our team and that helps to get us over the line, so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

Experienced campaigner Kani ready to lead from the front once again

We’re just under a month away from the 2022 National Women’s Championships to be held in the Gold Coast on 9-12 June and preparations are in full swing, as experienced campaigner Tiana Kani prepares to lace up the boots once again.

While there are plenty of fresh faces around the squad, Kani has been a mainstay in the group over the years and has been instrumental in helping grow the women's game down in Victoria both on and off the field.

The Werribee Bears player alongside her sister Georgina were part of the inaugural squad that travelled to Darwin in 2015, with the current squad coming a long way since then.

“That initial trip to Darwin was a tough one, we literally went away with a team of 14 and ended up having our coach Luisa Avaiki jump on and be our 13th player for us by the end,” Kani said.

“From then to now it’s come a long way, not just as in team-wise but facility wise, as we didn’t have the training grounds we have now.

"We now get to be at La Trobe with the field and the gym plus all the staff like the physios and strength and conditioning coaches at our disposal,” she said.

Kani said she’s witnessed a big change in the way that women’s rugby league is being viewed both in Victoria and the rest of Australia, with the quality and standard of footy rising alongside the number of girls looking to get involved.

“From a professional viewpoint a lot of the women are starting to take on the nutritional and recovery advice from the coaching staff, compared to when we first started we never really took in any of that, to be honest,” she said.

“Having the chance to go away to last year’s championships and seeing how professional it all was and being treated like proper athletes, it was a big eye-opener for a lot of us and now we’re trying to implement that back into the squad down here in Melbourne,” Kani said.

“We’ve had a lot of new faces this year which is good for the squad but also just for rugby league down here in Melbourne.

"There’s a lot of girls come from union which is really positive as we can make a bigger and better opportunity for women to embrace the game and create the chance to get an NRLW team down here,” Kani said.

“Another big change for us is being able to perform under the Melbourne Storm logo, it’s been really good and has seen everything run a lot smoother now we get to all train in the one location.”

The girls have been put through their paces so far during the training camps, with strength and conditioning programs put in place to ensure the girls can perform for the 20-minute halves required at nationals.

“We’ve been put through the hard years so far, there’s been plenty of strength work but especially running as we have to get used to the fitness required that comes with the speed of the game at national champs,” Kani said.

As for the squad’s expectations heading into the tournament, Kani highlighted the importance of creating a thriving and positive culture amongst the group, especially for the younger players, all while still looking to achieve the best they possibly can.

“We obviously want to perform well but again we’re not going to put too much pressure on ourselves and especially for the new girls, we want to create a welcoming environment and not scare them away in their first campaign,” she said.

“Just for the young ones it comes down to commitment and organisation, ensuring that they appreciate the opportunity that they are being given because when we started we didn’t have anything like that and had to really pave the way for what they have now,” The Werribee Bears player said.

“Squad’s like these will help them out so much, if they want to get where Hailee-Jay Maunsell [Current NRLW player] is then they have to commit and put in the work to make it happen,” she said.

We thank Keiser for their support of our female pathways program, providing the opportunity for all athletes.

#NRLVIC

NRL Victoria Female Academy 'has created a great learning environment'

Members of the NRL Victoria Female Academy will return to club training next week, with the program that has seen some of Victoria’s best female rugby league talent come together to train and learn over the past 12-weeks finishing up phase 1 of the academy prep yesterday.

The academy has been home to girls of differing age and experience from a wide range of local clubs, with both the women’s and U/19’s squads coming together to take part in the program that’s aimed at improving the skills and conditioning of the players in the lead up to the Women’s National Championships to be held in QLD on the 9-12th of June.

NRL Victoria Pathways and Coaching Manager Tim Auremi said it’s been great to see programs like the Academy help the women’s game continue to grow in Victoria.

“We’re hoping that this program can help expose more females to an environment where they can potentially in the years ahead become part of either support or coaching staff for the next generation,” Auremi said.

“Have to say a big thanks for the effort of all the girls and to all the coaching staff and support staff for putting in the work to create a great learning environment.”

With weekly training sessions every Tuesday and Thursday based out at Mount Ridley and Hallam Secondary College, the squad has been able to learn from the number of experienced coaching and support staff available to them.

Head Coach of the women’s squad Brandon Taunoa said that despite the challenges that female rugby league in Victoria has faced over the past two years, there have been plenty of positives to take out of the program.

“Moving forward it’ll be good for the game especially in Melbourne as you never know there may be a women’s Melbourne storm team one day.

“For now it’s all about trying to build the comp, improve the girls skills and make sure they get the basics right because that’s what makes good players,” he said.

The academy is playing a key role in ensuring the squads are approaching this year’s national championships with a unified approach, with dedicated strength and conditioning coaches Sonia De Rose and Rachel Pezzano looking to improve the squads performance in the gym and out on the field, to ensure they’ll be competitive against the other states despite a disrupted lead up to the season.

De Rose said that for the players that were regularly able to attend trainings, the coaching staff noticed a significant improvement.

“The girls that have been in attendance regularly have made some really good progress, we actually did some stats on that last week and sent out to the girls and it was really good what we saw was that they are getting towards a really strong level,” De Rose said.

With most of the girls being part of the program for the better part of a year, De Rose hopes that they can realise the potential impact they can have on other players in the hope to draw new talent in the future.

“It’s the girls back at club and community level that need to see this cause at the moment we just don’t have that nice flow of talent to the degree that we should,” she said.

“The resources are here, the coaches are here, the strength coaches, the wellness officers are here, we have nutrition going out to the girls, the context is here we just need the humans.”

The lack of rugby league action over the past two years has had a serious impact on the squads in the lead up to the 2022 season, with De Rose believing that many of the girls felt that they weren’t properly prepared.

“Community football was impacted because a lot of the girls weren’t getting consistency at the community footy level and a lot of them felt didn’t feel prepared or were underdone,” she said.

“A lot of the girls I spoke to were saying they weren’t feeling ready yet and that’s clearly because they weren’t getting that community sport.

“Looking ahead, we’ll send out programs and we’re going to do some testing once a month so the girls can get together as a group and see how everyone is going and we’ll probably see them in February or March as we ramp up preparations for nationals.”