David Middleton's 2025 NRLW Team of the Year

To celebrate the release of the 2025 Official Rugby League Annual, historian David Middleton has picked his 2025 NRLW Team of the Year.

Order your copy of the 2025 Official Rugby League Annual HERE

2025 WOMEN’S TEAM OF THE YEAR 

1. TAMIKA UPTON (Broncos) 
2. JULIA ROBINSON (Broncos) 
3. TIANA PENITANI GRAY (Sharks) 
4. ISABELLE KELLY (Roosters) 
5. PAYTON TAKIMOANA (Warriors)  
6. GAYLE BROUGHTON (Broncos) 
7. JESSE SOUTHWELL (Knights) 
8. RIMA BUTLER (Roosters) 
9. KEELEY DAVIS (Roosters) 
10. JESSIKA ELLISTON (Titans)  
11. YASMIN CLYDSDALE (Knights) 
12. ALEXIS TAUANEAI (Bulldogs) 
13. OLIVIA KERNICK (Roosters)

There are a couple of old Queensland hookers in Matt Ballin and Jake Friend who would identify with the kind of struggle Abbi Church faces in her bid to further her representative career. 

Ballin and Friend were stuck behind Cameron Smith for a decade. Ballin played one Origin game for the Maroons in 2010 while Friend had to wait until Smith retired to make his Origin debut as a 30-year-old. 

Church is fortunate that she plays for NSW and can enjoy a long stay as fullback for the Blues if she maintains the kind of form she showed in 2025. But expecting a long career for the Jillaroos may be slightly ambitious for the 27-year-old because as long as Tamika Upton stays fit, she is likely to hold a mortgage on the No.1 jersey for the national team. 

Church made the most of a fleeting opportunity to debut for the Jillaroos in October and was named player of the match against the Kiwis Ferns as Upton overcame a calf injury. 

But with Upton’s return to fitness, Church was forced to take a back seat again.

We named her one of the Top 5 Players of the Year after her brilliant season with the Eels and for her role in the Blues’ Origin success but Upton commands the No.1 position. 

Our other Top 5 players, Julia Robinson, Jesse Southwell and Olivia Kernick all claimed places in the Team of the Year, along with a bolter on the wing.

Warriors rugby convert Payton Takimoana displayed outstanding finishing skills in her first season of 13-a-side, scoring 15 tries in a team that failed to make the finals, from just 11 appearances. The 22-year-old produced a hot streak of tries in eight consecutive games during the season. 

Centres Tiana Penitani Gray and Isabelle Kelly continued to perform at a remarkably high level for club, state and country, while five-eighth Gayle Broughton played arguably her finest NRLW season.

Rima Butler and Jessika Elliston beat a strong field for the front-row berths. Butler enjoyed her best season and played all three Pacific Cup Tests while Elliston covered superbly for the loss of Shannon Mato at the Titans and contributed to the Jillaroos’ success. 

We gave Keeley Davis the nod at hooker ahead of several outstanding candidates including Olivia Higgins, Emma Manzelmann, Jada Ferguson and Quincy Dodd, largely on the score of achievement for the Roosters, Blues and Jillaroos. 

The back row remains unchanged from 2024, although Kernick and Tauaneai played slightly different roles for their respective teams in 2025.