“Goal scorer, try scorer”.

That is Paulina Morris-Ponga’s job description for the Cook Islands.

The Moana winger, who scored a hat-trick of tries against Papua New Guinea, has also represented Cook Islands at soccer before switching codes three years ago and is now a dual international.

“I just wanted a change, my brother plays league and my family is crazy about it so one day I just thought I would give it a go, and I loved it,” Morris-Ponga said after helping the Moana to a 34-6 win in the opening round of Pacific Championships.

“I played for the Mt Albert Lions this year and then moved onto rep level with the Akarana Falcons. This is my third year playing league.


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Paulina’s perfect start

“I also played for the Cook Islands soccer team. We went to the Pacific Games. We played PNG and Fiji. I play striker in soccer so I guess you could say my role is goal scorer, try scorer.”

After proving herself on the international stage, Morris-Ponga said she now has NRLW ambitions and the Auckland-based flier will be looking to again prove herself against Tonga at Santos Stadium next weekend.

“To play NRLW would be good so hopefully I can get into a team,” she said.

The win against the Orchids was the Moana’s first since beating France 26-18 at the last World Cup in 2022 and players and staff are disappointed not to have qualified for RLWC2026 in Australia and Papua New Guinea.


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Orchids v Moana – Round 1, 2025

Under new coach Ronald Griffiths, the Cook Islands have targeted the standalone Women’s World Cup in 2028 and are building a strong side, led by star halfback Chantay Kiria-Ratu.

The Sharks playmaker, who turns 21 on Tuesday, was named player-of-the-match after steering the Moana around the park in a five-star performance that showcased her passing, kicking and running skills.

“I played with Chantay in  2023 and she has improved so much. She was good then but she is even better now, and she will just get better as she gets older,” Morris-Ponga said.

“She is very vocal and she knows her job, she instructs us well and we are able to feed off her.

“When PNG scored first that was bit disheartening, but we got into a huddle, had a quick talk and just pushed through.

“We knew it was going to be hard but as long as we stayed connected and worked for each other we could get the job done.”