Rugby league: Katikati teenager Paea Uilou signs on to inaugural Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NRLW squad

Paea Uilou, 19, has joined the Sydney club’s inaugural squad on a two-year term.

A Katikati teenager has hit the big leagues by signing with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NRLW squad.

Paea Uilou, 19, joined the Sydney club’s inaugural squad on a two-year term after rising quickly through the ranks and soldiering on through a serious injury.

Paea first joined the Tarsha Gale Cup squad – an elite Under-19s women’s rugby league competition – only last year and was soon accepted in the Harvey Norman Women’s Premiership side this year.

Uilou thinks one of the reasons she was recruited for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NRLW squad was her work ethic and powering on after she broke her ribs on the field.

“That would have had to have been my downfall of the year,” she says, “but there’s nothing much you can do about it but to stay positive and always showing up to trainings... even if I couldn’t train.”

The new vocation with the Bulldogs has been one of Uilou’s goals.

Born in New Zealand of Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Uenukukōpako descent, Uilou has been playing league since she was 4. She spent many years in Australia and on a return home to New Zealand, had to switch to rugby. But league was where her heart was, so she moved back to Australia.

League is more than just a game, she says.

“I love being able to put my boots on and as soon as I step on to any field, it feels like home. I love the physical side of it, running the ball up and tackling people. I also love the friendships that are made out of it, especially the ones that turn into family.”

Landing a spot in the prestigious NRLW squad is not too much pressure, she says – she only wants to make her loved ones proud.

“Being away from home adds a little pressure knowing that I’m here to do a job, but also knowing that you don’t have your loved ones surrounding you on a daily basis – it’s a bit hard.”

Uilou says her strong points on the field would be an eagerness to “get out there and run the ball hard”. Another one would be her goalkicking and work ethic.

Female football operations co-ordinator and soon-to-be NRLW manager Lauren Milner says Uilou will bring much-needed depth to the squad and create plenty of competition for spots.

“Paea is a very powerful, dominant front-rower and has the added benefit of being a reliable goalkicker. Since she arrived at the club last year, she has gone from strength to strength.”