{"id":149301,"date":"2025-09-17T08:11:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T08:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/149301\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T08:11:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T08:11:12","slug":"sauaso-named-rlpa-rookie-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/149301\/","title":{"rendered":"Sauaso Named RLPA Rookie Of The Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broncos young star, Shalom Sauaso, has been named the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA), 2025 Rookie of the Year \u2013 as voted by the NRLW players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many great rookies in the competition this year and for me to be chosen for this award is such a blessing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old has made an incredible impact to the Broncos in her debut season, with 74 tackle breaks, four tries, an average of 140 run metres and 53 post-contact metres in just eight games.<\/p>\n

Sauaso joined the Broncos in 2024 after a highly successful Super W rugby union season with the Queensland Reds, which saw her earn an Australian Wallaroos jersey.<\/p>\n


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The Ipswich teenager was scouted by Broncos co-captain, Ali Brigginshaw, and signed her first NRLW development contract on her 17th birthday.<\/p>\n

The utility player was upgraded to a top 24 contract at the end of last year and has quickly progressed to become a consistent member of the NRLW team.<\/p>\n

She said she was honoured to be given the award.<\/p>\n


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I think it’s a proud moment for me because it shows that I belong somewhere.<\/p>\n


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\n\t\tShalom Sauaso
\n\t\tRLPA Rookie Of The Year
\n\t <\/p>\n

\u201cThe girls are like my family, so it means a lot, especially because the award was chosen by them.\u201d<\/p>\n


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CEO of the RLPA, Clint Newton OAM, extended his congratulations to Sauaso.<\/p>\n

\u201cShalom is powerful, damaging, physical, and – most importantly – she is proud of who she is, her family and culture.<\/p>\n


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Shalom is relentless in how she plays, and to be named the best Rookie by the players she competes against is a tremendous accolade.<\/p>\n


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\n\t\tClint Newton OAM
\n\t\tCEO of the RLPA
\n\t <\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot wait to see what the future holds for Shalom: in the short term for her team as they charge into the finals, but also beyond that as she continues to establish herself as a dominant and formidable force in the NRLW.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sauaso is also a finalist for the RLPA Players\u2019 Dream Team and is one of three finalists for the Impact Player of the season.<\/p>\n

The NRLW Dream Team will be announced on Wednesday, September 24.<\/p>\n


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Meanwhile, Broncos\u2019 Co-Captain Tamika Upton was voted RLPA Player of the Month \u2013 also voted by the players \u2013 for her performances during an undefeated month for the Club.<\/p>\n

Chelsea Lenarduzzi was a finalist for the Dennis Tutty award for her leadership, service and commitment to the advancement and protection of player rights.<\/p>\n

Lenarduzzi is a Club Delegate, part of the Women\u2019s Player Advisory Groups and Director on the Board of the RLPA where she consistently leads the playing group with her respected voice.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old won the award in 2023 and was proud to be a finalist again this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Broncos young star, Shalom Sauaso, has been named the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA), 2025 Rookie of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-149301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}