First-ever Woman of Steel the latest English player to make NRLW move
Photo: Craig Thomas/News Images
Former Woman of Steel Georgia Roche has become the latest English player to take up an opportunity in the largely professional NRLW.
The 22-year-old half-back won the inaugural Woman of Steel award in 2018 whilst playing for Castleford.
Roche has been a standout player in the Women’s Super League for several years now, and is widely expected to make the move to Newcastle Knights, although it has yet to be officially announced by the NRLW club.
The Batley-born playmaker, who starred for England at last year’s World Cup, is the second English player to make the make the move Down Under after York’s Hollie-Mae Dodd was snapped up by Canberra last week.
Georgia Roche departs Leeds with the club’s best wishes
Rhinos coach Lois Forsell said: “Georgia Roche has been in talks with the NRLW for quite some time.
“All the back and forth with the CBA movements with the NRLW has made it a longer process than what we probably anticipated. Georgia has been up front with us from the absolute start of her journey in pursuing other options.
“Credit to Georgia, she has been snapped up by an NRLW club. I’m sure that’ll be announced sooner rather than later. We obviously knew about that before Round One and they’d put an embargo on her playing.
“Hopefully we’ll see Georgia feature in an international game for England next week but her contract stated to be playing no domestic rugby league so that’s something she had to go along with. Its a shame for her and a shame for us because we’d have loved to see her run out at Headingley in Round One but she goes with our best wishes and we know she’ll do great.
“It’s a credit to our competition and us as a club that we’ve got players of that calibre that they are wanting to snap up.
“I’m sure we’ll see Georgia returning to Headingley and Leeds at some point later in her career. Hopefully it’s not too long until we see her in the Blue and Amber again.”
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