\u201cRugby has always been a big part of my family story,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeuila was one of my biggest inspirations growing up. Watching her achieve so much in the game made me believe that I can follow a similar path, and our family has always loved sports, so I\u2019m grateful for the avenues that sport has given us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Metanoia Fetalaiga was signed by Warriors coach Ronald Griffiths after playing for \u014ctara Scorpions. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
As fate would have it, Fetalaiga, who is of Tongan descent, was with her father when the formal offer from the Warriors came through.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in the living room, and my Dad happened to have his day off from work. I was sent through a contract by the Warriors right then and there, and I didn\u2019t know what to do, so I said a quiet prayer to myself, and I just randomly went up to my Dad and said, \u2018Hey, Dad, I got a contract for the Warriors.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in the middle of washing dishes, and he dropped a plate and just gave me the biggest hug. It was awesome to see that reaction from him considering he comes from an old-school mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fetalaiga\u2019s faith and her Tongan heritage are two key elements of what make her the person she is. Her parents migrated from Tonga before she was born in Auckland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that helps us be grounded in whatever platform or spaces that we\u2019re in. My parents had instilled that from the get-go. Initially they thought that New Zealand was the land of milk and honey, only to realise that the kids were the milk and honey, and then they ended up having to wait for a really long time to see what they\u2019d produced. It was awesome to have that in the forefront of everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born and bred here in New Zealand, and so my story will be different to other Tongans. I can\u2019t speak Tongan (but I can understand Tongan), but I am heavily invested in my Tongan values. I have played for Tonga just once, and I was unfortunately injured last season, so hopefully in the next few years I\u2019m able to be selected again and play for that red jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up, sport enabled the sisters to blow off some steam away from school, with their parents taking them to the local park whenever they could.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where our love of sports stemmed from. We had a big family, so we had enough for a rugby team. We played cricket, touch, basketball, and pretty much any sport that involved any balls.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fetalaiga, 27, attended McAuley High School in \u014ct\u0101huhu, but it wasn\u2019t until she finished there that she started playing league. Joining the open competition in Auckland, she was thrown in the deep end to play with the likes of Krystal Rota, Amber Hall and Annetta Nu\u2019uausala, the last of whom is one of three players (alongside Mele Hufanga and Gayle Broughton) to join the Warriors this season from the 2025 premiership winners, the Brisbane Broncos.<\/p>\n
Fetalaiga herself has links to Brisbane, with her husband Ieti working there as a deputy principal at Marist College in Ashgrove. She\u2019s also involved in education, currently working at Saint Kentigern College in Auckland as a relief teacher as she juggles her Warriors commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful for the opportunity to live both worlds,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Six of the club\u2019s new signings lined up for the trial game on June 21 against the Broncos at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch. Broughton started at stand-off with Nuuausala at prop. Ocean Tierney, an ex- Farah Palmer Cup rugby union representative from the tiny Northland settlement of Tinopai, was named on the wing, with Jay Huriwai, Natalia Hickling and Anastasia Seneke alongside Fetalaiga on the bench. <\/p>\n
The game ended in a tight 12-10 win for the Broncos, and Fetalaiga was pleased the side were able to get into a competitive match.<\/p>\n
\u201cPre-season has been awesome and it was really good to see where we were at as a team. From the first minute I got on the field, my lungs were blowing. I thought that my fitness was up to par, but it\u2019s not the same as match fitness, so yeah, we were really feeling it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther teams will be doing a lot of fitness, boot camps, but for us it\u2019s a lot about connection leading up to the season. Ron loves making sure that we\u2019re connecting off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 season kicks off this week, with the Warriors hosting the Canterbury Bulldogs at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton, on Sunday afternoon. Fetalaiga is on the extended bench for the match.<\/p>\n
Like 2025, it\u2019s an 11 round\/12-team competition, with the top six teams advancing to the finals series.<\/p>\n
Of their five home matches, the Warriors will play two games at FMG and the other three at Go Media Stadium in Auckland. As well as the five away matches, round five will be a Magic Round showcase in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.<\/p>\n
They finished in eighth place last year, but Griffiths believes they can go much further this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a squad this season that is competitive, and no doubt has the potential to be there on the final day,\u201d Griffiths said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe we\u2019ve got a good mix of youth, experience and players who are looking for an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
A key to that success will be the passionate home support. That\u2019s has shown itself to be a huge factor historically for the men\u2019s team, and last year, the women\u2019s team, both home and away. Griffiths knows the players can feel that passion from the terraces and beyond, describing it as a \u201cjuggernaut\u201d, with a culture and fan base unlike any other in the NRL.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got no doubt since they\u2019ve been here, they\u2019ve felt a different environment and a culture they\u2019ve never experienced anywhere else before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fetalaiga and her teammates are certainly up for the challenge and can\u2019t wait for the season to begin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the connection and the energy has been immensely good so far. I\u2019m excited because we\u2019re that type of team that won\u2019t care what team we\u2019re facing, we\u2019ll just continue to battle through each team at a time, each week at a time, so I\u2019m excited for the season and what the girls will bring into this space.\u201d<\/p>\n