Queenslander Clark excited for Kiwi Ferns switch

For Clark, whose mother and grandfather are from Napier and grandmother is from Te Kōpuru, it was a tough decision to give up a potential follow-up in a maroon jersey as New Zealand is a Tier 1 nation, but ultimately, it was the right choice for her.

“I have always been half Kiwi, but I never thought it would actually be an option to go and play with them, I didn’t think that opportunity would come up,” Clark said.

“(How it came about was) it was around Origin time, and I missed out on squad selection … and I was just having a chat with Georgia Hale – I am good friends with her and Crystal Tamarua – and she sort of planted the seed and she said, ‘have you ever thought about Kiwi Ferns?’

“I had (also) met Amber (Hall) and Netta (Nu’uausala) through Broncos ‘cause they were with me and I have a lot of respect for those girls and I would love to go play alongside them in those colours.

“I asked around them because I said I don’t want to be like an intruder or piss anyone off if I am going to take an opportunity off someone else who is actually from over there, but I am half Kiwi so it is fine, I just wanted to make sure it was sweet with them and they were like ‘oh no, we would love to have you’.

“I flicked Ricky a message and we had a bit of a chat on the phone and discussed everything. He was lovely and he was really welcoming, and he said he had been watching me and loved my style and that I would fit really well in with what he wants to do with his team, with the Ferns.

“It was that hard thing with Origin, it’s a huge sacrifice. Things are turning into a three-match series, but my whole footy career, I have never really considered the money.

“An Origin jersey does mean a lot to me – I got a call (from the QRL) who confirmed ‘you know you are sort of done for Origin for forever and a day’ – and it kind of hit me in the heart, but I understood that, I know what the sacrifice is.

“(But) I am really excited for it and I think it was the right choice and I will fit in really well with those girls. There are so many that I respect highly, I always have been a fan of Georgia and Crystal who are like my chosen sisters from when I met them with Warriors, it’s the right choice for me.”

Coach Henry said both Clark and Pule were players he’d had his eye on for a while and knew they would be a good fit for his squad.  

“One of the first things is making sure they are genuine about playing for New Zealand, not just putting on a jersey … so that’s probably the first thing I wanted to explore and understand, and just making sure we connect well and the fit is good,” Henry said.

“For me, Bri is someone who has been on the radar for a couple years now, she played at the Warriors during COVID and a lot of the girls really connected with her … she’s definitely connected to New Zealand.

“From a football side of things, obviously have been watching her at Titans and at Broncos and have been really impressed with her, she’s obviously a middle forward which is something we are looking for, but one of her key attributes is that she can kick goals as well, that’s a big plus for us.

“She’s 100 miles an hour, a really lovely person to be around, she’s got a really good aura about her, you connect straight away and that’s genuine, so all those types of things, we definitely like good people before good players here.

“(With Otesa) I watched the State of Origin for Under 19s, so saw her there … definitely like her size and her speed and she’s a bit of an athlete, so we were really keen on getting her on board.

“A long-term view on her as well is that she’ll be around for a while and we want to harness that and try and bring her through and hopefully she’ll have a long career in the black jersey.

“Talking to the other girls as well who had played with the likes of Bri, they found that there was a really good connection there, a genuine person, works really hard and leaves no stone unturned, so really pleased to have her on board and Otesa.

“I think when they have to choose (between New Zealand and Queensland), it is a tough decision, but for me, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime, you get to play for your country, international football. I know it’s held in high regard, New South Wales and Queensland, but playing for your country, for us anyways, is a prestigious thing.”

With the Ferns assembling in Auckland before departing for the UK, Clark is taking the time to firstly source some warm clothes and she is also keen to take on board the cultural learning the squad have scheduled for camp.

“New Zealand is half of me, but it is probably half of me that I haven’t discovered yet and this gives me an opportunity to dig into that and honour it on that side of my bloodline,” Clark said.

“On the schedule, we have haka practice and I think I am more nervous about haka practice than anything through this entire campaign.

“We sort of got the feel for it when we were in Warriors, when it was that Australian team and we had the five Kiwi girls, they brought all their values and their cultural aspect to it and allowed everyone to get involved and learn.

“We did the haka and it was such an empowering thing and they were so welcoming and happy to have people join who were on board.

“I am really excited for it … I’m so excited to be soaking it all up and get involved.”