Raiders winger Mackenzie Wiki says it’s especially nice to be striding down the right touchline for her club to find her old schoolmate in Leianne Tufuga on her inside.
It worked particularly well for Canberra in their 22-10 win over the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval last Friday night with both women scoring in the four-try-to-two win.
They were in the same Auckland high school playing rugby sevens together before each went their separate ways.
Leianne Tufuga Try
Mackenzie followed her famous father Ruben Wiki into rugby league and into one of his former clubs – the Raiders – making her debut in the NRLW club’s foundation year of 2023.
After 28 games with the Roosters and Wests Tigers, Tufuga moved south and joined Wiki at the Raiders in 2025.
“It’s been a great combo. We’ve known each other since we were 16,” Wiki told NRL.com.
“We’ve got that old connection from high school days … then she happened to come to our club last year.
“It’s such a great feeling to play with her again, to reconnect. Now we’re like two peas in a pod.”
Those peas have helped the Green Machine make their first NRLW finals series. They finished 5th in 2023 but it was a 10-team competition that year and only the top-four qualified for finals.
The loss of captain Simaima Taufa to suspension for three weeks was only partially felt on Friday with props Chloe Saunders, Sophie Holyman and No.13 Hollie-Mae Dodd keeping the Raiders middles in a dominant mood against the Wests Tigers.
Wests Tigers v Raiders - Round 11, 2026
“We had a lot to play for tonight and ‘Mima’ was part of that,” Wiki said.
“She’s one of our leaders and has given so much to our team so it was a massive push by us for her.”
It will be needed again as the Raiders (5th) play the Wests Tigers (4th) for the second-straight week in the opening weekend of the finals.
“We’ve really deserved to get to where we are this year because we’ve worked hard the last couple of seasons building the base and the structures,” Wiki said.
“This year it’s shown with that consistency in our footy. We are excited for finals footy.”
Wiki’s four-pointer took her to 10 for the year, making her the Raiders’ top try-scorer so far in 2026.
That’s as many as her dad Ruben scored in 1996 for the Raiders, at the halfway mark in his decade with the Green Machine before moving to the Warriors for his final four seasons before hanging up the boots.
Wiki with a hatty
“We have lots of chats and talk about my attack mostly and little ways I can improve.
“He’s a legend in the game so it’s not a bad idea to listen to what he has to say.
“He trusts my footy IQ and all he wants to do is be a supportive dad, and he has been.”
