WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n \u201cI was born and raised on the Coast and I was catching a train to Sydney (to attend training),\u201d she told foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n \u201cI was leaving school early, literally logging into my mum\u2019s emails and pretending to be here to leave early. <\/p>\n \u201cThen played Harmony Cup where I met Keeley Nizza and Brydie Parker. I met those girls there at Mounties and the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the unlikely path to the NRLW was only the beginning of her journey.<\/p>\n Debuting with the Parramatta Eels, Naividi revealed for the first time that she considered walking away from rugby league altogether after rupturing her ACL in 2022.<\/p>\n Naividi began her NRLW career with the Parramatta Eels.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Not only was she off-contract when the injury struck, leaving her without the security and support of an NRLW club as she faced the long road back.<\/p>\n But away from the field, she was also dealing with the devastating loss of her father, making an already difficult rehabilitation journey even more challenging.<\/p>\n \u201cBack when I did my first ACL, we just lost our dad, so my rehab was not my priority,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI shouldn\u2019t really be here, honestly, the way I was going about my rehab, but I just kept chipping away.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so recent, so even though I did my ACL, my family was so supportive even though they\u2019re struggling too.<\/p>\n \u201cBut they had my back the whole way and if it wasn\u2019t for the sacrifices they made, I would not be here.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was incredibly hard. I generally don\u2019t know how I\u2019m here today through all that.<\/p>\n \u201c It was the hardest moment of my life and I think, in another outlook, that\u2019s what has made me the player I am today. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel niggles here and there, but I\u2019ve dealt with worse. It\u2019s really nothing (now).\u201d<\/p>\n Taina Naividi of the Roosters. (Photo by Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Without a club and grieving the loss of her father, the utility wasn\u2019t convinced she had a future in the game.<\/p>\n That was until Keeley Nizza sent her a direct message on social media out of the blue.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter my first ACL stint, I didn\u2019t feel like I was going to be playing footy at that level again after playing for Parra, but then Keeley messaged me on Instagram saying, \u2018What\u2019s your number?\u2019 Naividi added.<\/p>\n \u201cMy coach wants to talk to you and I was like, there\u2019s no way. <\/p>\n \u201cThen the next minute John Strange is on the phone to me, and he wanted to sign me, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was going to play sport but probably just not to that level. I thought it was always going to be club (local footy), which is great, but I didn\u2019t expect it.\u201d<\/p>\n Brilliant Broncos put comp on notice! | 14:08<\/p>\n Having endured so much already throughout her career, Naividi was dealt another cruel blow at the back end of last season when she ruptured her ACL for a second time – one day before the 2025 NRLW Grand Final.<\/p>\n This time she approached the long road back with a different mindset.<\/p>\n Knowing exactly what lay ahead, she has used the setback as fuel, with the prospect of returning to the grand final arena this year driving her on.<\/p>\n \u201cWith my first ACL rehab journey, I didn\u2019t take it seriously at all so I knew what to expect but with the rehab process I didn\u2019t really know what I was getting myself into,\u201d Naividi continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the second time I knew I needed to lock in.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s made me more hungry and, to be honest, coming back from an ACL you don\u2019t think you\u2019ll ever play the same way you did before.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think having an amazing staff and amazing team to always back you up and bring belief in yourself has been great and because of them I can continue to play.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney Roosters star Taina Naividi has experienced the very highs and lows rugby league has to offer. From…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-900659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900659","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=900659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790035332_674_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n