Cowan one to watch at NRLW Nines
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They're the unproven, and in some cases untried in rugby league, players with points to prove in the first major women's event of 2020.
NRL.com shares some of the back stories of those set to make their debut with their NRLW clubs in the two-day tournament.
Nine debutantes to watch in the NRLW Nines
Rhiarna Ferris (Warriors)
Ferris is one of three New Zealand rugby union players set to apply their sevens skills at the NRLW Nines tournament.
The 27-year-old former representative netballer switched to rugby union and made her international debut for the Black Ferns in 2018.
Her height, offloading ability and experience gives the Manawatu product an immediate point of difference.
Jayme Fressard (Brisbane Broncos)
The journey Fressard has taken over the past two years has been nothing short of inspirational.
The former NSW Country winger signed with the Broncos for the inaugural NRLW season in 2018 but suffered a ruptured ACL less than a fortnight later.
A delay with her rehabilitation due to a MCL setback meant the 23-year-old also missed the 2019 season but the flying winger is back and ready to restart her promising career.
Talei Holmes (Sydney Roosters)
Fiji international Holmes gets her first chance to play with the Tricolours after impressing on various stages in 2019.
She took out Cronulla's player of the year award in NSW's Harvey Norman Women's Premiership in 2019 after graduating from the Tarsha Gale Cup side a year earlier.
She made her debut for Fiji Bulikula against Papua New Guinea in the side's first Test match last June, making 10 tackle breaks and running for 101 metres in the 28-0 win.
Kaarla Cowan (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Dragons product Cowan gets an opportunity in a star-studded squad.
The feisty hooker represented the Australian Prime Minister's XIII in 2019 and has a background in rugby sevens and touch football.
She played for NSW City at the National Championships and is considered a bright prospect.
Tanika Marshall (Brisbane Broncos)
Another member of the Fijian side, Marshall has been elevated from the Broncos development group into the Nines squad.
A rising centre, Marshall is from Ipswich and has a long-term ambition to play for Queensland and the Jillaroos despite her Fijian allegiance.
Laur'eane Biville (Warriors)
The French international arrives in the Warriors' lap after moving to Australia in 2019.
Biville completed three months of work on a farm in Ballina as part of her visa requirements.
The centre is playing for Easts Tigers in Brisbane and is looking to build on her representative experience after making her Test debut for France against England in 2017.
Ash Quinlan (Sydney Roosters)
The Australian Touch Football Representative joins the Roosters for the tournament in a big coup for the club.
Quinlan was rated the best touch football player in NSW last year after starring for Wests Tigers in the NRL Touch Premiership.
Her speed and agility won't be an issue in this format.
Hayley Maddick (Brisbane Broncos)
If Ash Quinlan was rated the best touch footballer in NSW, Maddick is her contemporary north of the border.
The Caboolture junior played for the Broncos in the Women's Touch Premiership and was later named player of the competition, edging Quinlan for the award.
The 27-year-old guided the Broncos to the Touch Premiership title and will be looking to help add yet another trophy to the cabinet alongside the likes of Ali Brigginshaw, Annette Brander and Raecene McGregor.
Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali (Warriors)
Another rugby union talent recruited by the Warriors, Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali is looking to convert her skills as a fly half in rugby into the NRLW Nines competition.
A member of the New Zealand Black Ferns squad for close to a decade, the 28-year-old was named in the women's Rugby World Cup team of the tournament in 2017.
