Jasmin Huriwai has become the latest piece in the Warriors' NRLW jigsaw, with the 32-year-old halfback putting six Wallaroos Tests and a Super Rugby career with the Brumbies behind her to chase a fresh start in rugby league.
The Auckland-born playmaker, who racked up 16 Super Rugby Pacific appearances for the Brumbies between 2023 and 2025 and earned half a dozen Test caps in Australian colours over the same window, signed with New Zealand's NRLW expansion side this week ahead of the club's 2026 season opener against the Bulldogs at FMG Stadium Waikato on July 5.
For head coach Ron Griffiths, Huriwai's arrival is a statement about the club's culture as much as her ability with ball in hand. Speaking to the club's media team, Griffiths described the recruitment as a values pick.
"Jay made a significant personal sacrifice by moving herself from Australia of her own volition," Griffiths said.
"We are elated she has earned her opportunity, and the sacrifice she has made speaks volumes for her character."
Huriwai herself admitted the moment her switch was confirmed caught her off guard. The halfback had been chasing a Warriors contract through the back end of the Brumbies season, but said the offer still landed with a jolt.
"Very emotional. When Ron told me he said it in a very subtle way and it took me a bit to process it," she said.
The code switch itself, she insisted, was the easy part. Trading the Wallaroos jersey and a Super Rugby Pacific franchise for the unknown of NRLW was less daunting than the geography of the move.
"It wasn't a tough call honestly. The only tough part about it was packing up my whole life in Australia," Huriwai said.
"I've lived in Australia for a long time and, at first, I was nervous and scared because I've never been in New Zealand for longer than two weeks since moving to Australia."
Huriwai's signing fits a broader pattern of women's rugby union talent trialling rugby league in a market where NRLW contracts and minutes are expanding faster than the 15-a-side game can match. The Wallaroos have lost a stream of players to the NRLW pipeline since the Australian competition went full-time, and Huriwai's departure removes a versatile back from the Brumbies' depth chart in a season when Australian rugby is already wrestling with Pacific Four results that left the Wallaroos at the bottom of the standings.
The pull on the New Zealand side, however, is just as strong. The Warriors are still building a roster from scratch, and Griffiths has openly targeted players who can sit at the centre of a young side. Huriwai's experience as a Test halfback and a long-serving Super Rugby starter gives the club a senior voice in a position where game management is at a premium.
For Huriwai, the immediate brief is simpler than the headlines around her switch. After spending a decade in Australia and stepping into a new code in a country she has not lived in since her teens, she said the football itself is what she has been waiting for.
"I can't wait to get out there and do my thing," she said.
The Warriors open their NRLW campaign in Hamilton on July 5, with Huriwai expected to feature as the club's first-choice number seven.
