WIGAN WARRIORS coach Denis Betts hailed the efforts of departing Australians Shaniah Power and Emily Veivers who, after helping the Warriors claim a clean sweep last season, have decided to return to the NRLW.
The boss confirmed the departures after the club’s double signing of Kelsey Gentles and Bethan Dainton in November.
While delighted with his replacement forwards, Betts knows that Power and Veivers brought something special to his team which will be missed going into 2026.
Power scored seven tries in 16 appearances for Wigan, with Veivers crossing for four tries in eleven games, most of them from the bench before suffering a broken arm during the Challenge Cup final in June.
She returned to fitness in time for the final four games of the season.
Power’s sister Tiana, the Wigan centre, has also returned to Australia.
“They were brilliant,” said Betts of the pack pair.
“Until she got injured, Emily was outstanding, but then had to sit things out for a while.
“She healed very well though and did what she had to do to get back for the final month of the season and forced herself back into a side playing really, really well.
“She was good for the for the group and gave us some real momentum. You always want you team to get a little bit better and, the previous year, our bench never really gave us a boost, but this year it did and made us better.
“That’s what Emily did. It wasn’t about her starting every week, it was about making us better and she did that massively whenever she come on the field.
“Shaniah was a big-game player. When you look at all the big games we had – especially in the last month of the season – she was unlucky not to win player of the match in both the Grand Final and the semi-final a couple of weeks before that.
“She was just such a great player for us in those games and brought loads of experience to them.
“Throughout the year she was a really positive influence in the team and a great girl to be around.
“Those two, along with Tiana, were outstanding for us.”
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