{"id":343751,"date":"2025-12-12T19:12:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T19:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/343751\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T19:12:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T19:12:17","slug":"tia-molo-following-in-the-footsteps-of-nrl-star-uncles-total-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/343751\/","title":{"rendered":"Tia Molo following in the footsteps of NRL star uncles \u2013 Total Rugby League"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n A niece to NRL stars Francis and Michael Molo, Tia Molo is busy making a name for herself in the women\u2019s game and has already achieved international honours with Papua New Guinea Orchids.<\/p>\n

WHEN Tia Molo gave up her love of playing netball to pursue a career in rugby league, never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be representing her Papua New Guinean heritage at such an early age.<\/p>\n

Somewhat of a late bloomer to the game of rugby league at the tender age of 16, the proud Papua New Guinean\/Samoan young gun has certainly turned heads out on the field.<\/p>\n

Whilst the university student juggles both study and rugby league trying to find the perfect balance, one thing for sure is that the promising centre is on the cusp of impressive things to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in a dual netball\/rugby league family, I was always destined to play one or the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started netball because all my friends were playing it and I just loved the camaraderie amongst the girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI seemed to have really found my feet with the sport and ended up representing the Australian girls\u2019 netball team two years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I always wanted to give rugby league a go because I liked playing it in the backyard with my siblings and cousins.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, my parents signed me up at my local club Pine Central Holy Spirit and before you know it, I instantly fell in love with the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found it a bit tough at first, getting to know the rules properly and positioning on the field, but once I got going, I never looked back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough choosing between netball and rugby league, but I know I made the right choice in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

The apple certainly does not fall far from the tree in the Molo household with her uncles Francis and Michael Molo, both NRL stars with the Dolphins and St George-Illawarra, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth my uncles are talented players and I must have that Samoan toughness about me because I love the physical nature of rugby league.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I started my rugby league journey, I must admit, the opportunities that have come my way have been crazy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was lucky enough to represent Samoa in the girls U17 side in this years Queensland Pacific Cultural carnival, something that was special to me because I was representing my dad\u2019s Samoan heritage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you pull on that Samoan jersey, it is hard not get emotional especially with the national anthem playing, it gives you goosebumps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molo\u2019s performances for her domestic club also gained her selection in this year\u2019s women\u2019s Queensland City side v Queensland Country at the Dolphins\u2019 Kayo Stadium.<\/p>\n

The speedy centre crossed for a try in the 20-4 victory and was one of the shining lights on the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepresenting Queensland was another box ticked for me. I thought how good is this that I am running out for Queensland in my own backyard in front of my family, it was a real pinch yourself moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was Molo\u2019s selection in the Papua New Guinea Junior Orchids side against Australia in 2025, that has really seen her explode on the international stage.<\/p>\n

Suiting up and playing against some of the best NRLW players running around would not only evaluate her endurance but give her an indication of where she is at in terms of her skillset.<\/p>\n

Plucked from obscurity from the local amateur competition in Brisbane, the effervescent Molo seized her opportunity with both hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Orchids found out that I had PNG heritage, they reached out inviting me to join the Junior Orchids squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, it had not really sunk in because I was nervous joining the team not knowing anybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut once I got over to PNG, the girls were lovely. They made me feel welcome and this is coming from players who have loads more experience than I do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew playing for the Orchids was going to make my mum proud and now that I have worn the PNG jersey, it is something that I will always treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molo\u2019s introduction to the fanatical PNG supporters was also quite the culture shock when she arrived in the country.<\/p>\n

Visiting rugby league teams may find the PNG fanaticism overwhelming with excited supporters looking for a glimpse of the players.<\/p>\n

However, Molo\u2019s introduction was quite the welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we pulled up to our hotel, the PNG fans were jumping on the bus banging the windows and cheering us on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced anything like it before and the noise was deafening with the screaming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unbelievable to see it all unfold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe even had fans camping outside our hotel wanting to meet us, that is how fanatical the supporters are in PNG.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molo, who featured for the Orchids in this year\u2019s Pacific Championships believes the women\u2019s game is getting stronger and wants to see the nation become an unstoppable force in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep banging the drum for women\u2019s rugby league in PNG. We have the talent and playing the likes of Australia gives us the opportunity to fine tune our skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be the best, you need to play the best, so ensuring that we have proper pathways in place for our PNG girls is paramount if we want to be competitive into the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love about both PNG and Samoa is that we are deeply cultural. That side of things is something I am passionate about.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepresenting my family and our people not only makes you proud, but it also puts our nations on the map to show others how fiercely competitive we are.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, I just want to concentrate on hopefully getting a call up to an NRLW club to show people that I am ready to make the step up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just a girl with a big dream of making it in a game that requires you to be mentally and physically strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo those ladies who think that the possible is impossible, do not for a second let anything stop you in reaching for the stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just never know who is watching and what opportunities may lie ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 515 (December 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A niece to NRL stars Francis and Michael Molo, Tia Molo is busy making a name for herself…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-343751","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\/343751","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=343751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}