The club’s NRLW program has undergone a shift in recent months with Nathan Cross now the Head Coach and Sam Bremner the Head of Female Football.
The club announced that five new faces would be welcomed into the Top 24 squad for the upcoming season headlined by international and State of Origin star Hannah Southwell.
Alongside her on the list of additions are Grace Hamilton, Ahlivia Ingram, Jayme Millard and Pia Tapsell as well development players Seriah Palepale and Maria Paseka – who made her NRLW debut in 2024.
GRACE HAMILTON
Having grown up on a family farm in Orange, Grace has pieced together a decorated dual-code career having captained the Wallaroos and Waratahs and represented the Sydney Roosters. She represented Australia in the 2017 and 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cups and came off the bench for the Roosters in the 2020 NRLW Grand Final. She first represented the Brumbies in 2014 before earning a Test debut for the Wallaroos during their 2016 Tour of New Zealand. Two years later, she was a member of the Waratahs’ inaugural Super W premiership-winning squad before helping lead them to a second and third title over the next two seasons. In 2020, she also made her NRLW debut for the Roosters before joining the Tricolours again for their 2023 campaign. She links up with the Red V having last played union in Montpellier in southern France. Away from football, she works as a coaching and leadership consultant and enjoys the ocean, art, and going out with family.
AHLIVIA INGRAM
A proud Wiradjuri and Dunghutti woman, Ahlivia grew up in the nation’s capital playing her juniors with the Valley Dragons and Tuggeranong Bushrangers. Her journey started at Boomanulla Oval – an iconic sports and recreation organisation which has served Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community for decades – where her grandfather Noel Ingram dedicated much of his life to its preservation as CEO. Ahlivia credits Boomanulla Oval as the source of many lifelong lessons which have served her well through her sporting journey. She plied her trade as a youngster at the Katrina Fanning Shield and was a member of Canberra’s inaugural Tarsha Gale Cup squad in 2017. In 2022, she represented the First Nations Gems at the NRL Women’s National Championships and was selected for the Prime Minister’s XIII later that year. Ahlivia made her NRLW debut for the Raiders in 2023 a few months after earning a maiden Indigenous All-Stars nod.
JAYME MILLARD
Jayme earns an NRLW opportunity having impressed at Harvey Norman NSW Women's Premiership level with the Sharks. She spent the first five years of her life in the UK with her father Shane playing in the English Super League. They settled back in Bulli with Jayme largely playing soccer growing up – as well as touch football, Oztag, and athletics – before trying her hand at League Tag with the Woonona-Bulli Bushrangers. She played for NSW Institute in the NPL before travelling stateside to play soccer at Concord University in West Virginia where she was named an All-MEC Honourable Mention. She has also represented Australia at Under 17s and Under 20s level. Her father played for the Dragons back in 2002 and currently coaches the club’s Jersey Flegg Cup squad. Off the field, Jayme is passionate in her role as a disability support worker and enjoys spending time with her family, going to the gym, and travelling.
PIA TAPSELL
Pia grew up Devonport – a harbourside suburb of Auckland – and is currently in Perth representing the Western Force in the Super W. Her sporting journey began at a young age; she played representative Touch for North Harbour as an eight-year-old before getting her first taste of rugby union a year later with North Shore. Throughout high school, she represented the New Zealand Under 18s Tag team whilst also playing representative netball. Since then, the 26-year-old has represented the Black Ferns internationally and proven a mainstay in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. She linked up with the Sharks for the 2024 NRLW season, but did not debut. Her Black Ferns debut came in 2019 – where she was in the running for a Rookie of the Year nod – and she has since gone on to make six appearances for her nation. She graduated with a Bachelor of Sport Management from Massey University and, away from football, volunteers at her local animal shelter, coaches at her local women’s rugby club, and is passionate about the development of women’s sport. Pia is also a proud Ngāti Whakauae and Te Arawa Māori woman.
