Six debutants will walk onto the GIO Stadium field for their first NRLW match with the Canberra Raiders this Saturday.

Georgia Thomas and Lili Boyle will make their NRLW debuts on 5 July, while four players will make their Raiders debut – Leianne Tufuga, Chloe Saunders, Isabella Waterman and Jordyn Preston.

The double header will see the NRLW Raiders take on St George Illawarra Dragons followed by the NRL Raiders against the Dragons. Both matches will be preceded by the NSW Cup.

Saunders said she was excited to debut.

“Obviously we’ve been learning a lot about the club,” she told media at a press conference on Thursday.

“We’ve been doing a lot of Kahoot! quizzes.

“So I am very excited to know the jersey that I’m putting and the history behind it; especially our NRLW girls that have worn it beforehand.

“I’m really excited for it being my third season (after two seasons with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks) and to be able to start especially in a newish position, I’m very keen.”

Growing up in Kempsey, Saunders has a background in rugby sevens and cricket. She made the switch to rugby league in the lead up to the 2023 NRLW season.

She said having multiple debutants going into round one meant she could relate to the others and showed depth in the club.

“Being a triple header as well, it’s very nerve-wracking,” Saunders said.

Aside from playing football, Saunders is also a primary school teacher.

“Yes, I have just gone through my calendar for the next three months and I’ve been blocking out days but yes, I do both,” she told CD.

She said her time on the team has been great. “It’s actually been really awesome learning about the girls on a deeper lever, things like that, but just their quirks and the things that get them going,” Saunders told CD.

“Especially in the gym when you’ve got the music pumping, you’ll definitely know someone from the others from what they’re playing.”

Prop Sophie Holyman said she was excited for all the debutants.

“They all have their unique flair I love about them,” she told media.

“They all work extremely hard and every single one of them deserves to be able to get their Raider(s) number, I’m super excited for them.”

She said the standout newbie was Lili Boyle, a development player who was given an exemption to play round one due to several injuries in the squad.

“I think she for one stood out for me the very first training session. I think it was at the start of this year,” Holyman said.

“And then to come in as a development player to now, playing round one for NRLW is huge.

“And for me, she was someone in conditioning, in any sort of drill, she’s always the first one here.

“I love that because she’s probably one of the youngest (players), but she’s got so much confidence.

“To be able to jump in around it as a utility and the footy she plays is unbelievable – so I’m really excited for her.”

CD asked what her expectations were for the season ahead.

“Well, you never know. But obviously like I said how pre-season’s gone and the attitudes the girls that we have at Raiders, we’re definitely looking to make the finals,” Holyman said.

Earlier in the year, coach Canberra Raiders NRLW coach Darrin Borthwick said many of the players came back to the club for pre-season “reasonably fit”.

“Given it’s a short pre-season, we expected the girls to be coming back in reasonable nick, and they’ve done that. I’m really happy with their fitness at the moment,” he said.

Mr Borthwick said looking ahead, the team was eyeing off a top six and to finish better than last year – they placed seventh on the ladder in 2024.

“We’re not putting too much pressure on ourselves but we’re really going to need to look at that. That’ll be one thing for us,” he said.

Mr Borthwick encouraged people to watch both the men’s and women’s matches.

“I think it was something we did really well in  year one and for whatever reason last year we didn’t quite get as many as what we’d like,” he told CD.

“But to start our campaign at home before the men, I know our  players look up to the men and they love watching them play.”

At a press conference on 3 July, Mr Borthwick said as a club, it was a privilege to put the Raiders jersey on.

“I know the six girls who are getting the opportunity to do that are all excited to do that,” he said.

See below for the full 2025 fixture:

Round 1: Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons, GIO Stadium Canberra, 3:15pm, 5 July, followed by the men at 5:30pm

Round 2: Canberra Raiders v Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, GIO Stadium Canberra, 12:45pm, 12 July

Round 3: Canberra Raiders v Paramatta Eels, GIO Stadium Canberra, 12:45pm, 19 July, followed by the men at 3pm

Round 4: North Queensland Cowboys v Canberra Raiders, Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, 5:15pm, July 26

Round 5: Newcastle Knights v Canberra Raiders McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, 1:45pm, 3 August

Round 6: Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos, GIO Stadium Canberra, 1:45pm, 10 August

Round 7: New Zealand Warriors v Canberra Raiders, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, 5:15pm, 16 August

Round 8: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney, 12:45pm, 23 August

Round 9: Canberra Raiders v West Tigers, GIO Stadium Canberra, 12:45pm, followed by the men at 3pm

Round 10: Sydney Roosters v Canberra Raiders, Allianz Stadium, Sydney, 5:40pm, 5 September

Round 11: Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders, Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast, 1:45pm, 13 September

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