With the competition heading towards the business end of the season, the Steelers are determined to improve on their fifth-place standing as they prepare to face the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Terry Lamb Complex, Chester Hill this Saturday in Round 7 of the NSWRL Women’s Premiership.
The Steelers are aiming to bounce back after a 22-12 defeat to the Rabbitohs last week. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are still searching for their first victory of the season following a close 24-20 loss to the reigning premiers, the Sharks.
Cycle Mentality
After a flawless 3-0 start to the season, the Steelers have lost two of their past three games. Head Coach Courtney Crawford says it’s the basics letting the team down most, and that’s been the primary focus this week.
“It’s just about getting back and focusing on the fundamentals we talked about: being a team with a cycle mentality and keeping the ball in play for long periods and doing the fundamentals really well,” Crawford explains.
“We’re just not doing that at the moment, which is why we’re not getting the results. It’s just focusing on us and doing all the little things right. We put ourselves under too much pressure.
“They’ve [Bulldogs] got a really strong forward pack and if we turn the footy over like we did on the weekend, we’re not going to give ourselves a chance, so it’s just about running hard, kicking to corners and just staying in the grind and staying patient.”
Season Standouts
Crawford praised several players, crediting their form as key contributors to the team’s success this season.
“Georgie Barrett’s been a standout. She moved to halfback this year after playing five-eighth, and she’s directing the team around really well. She had a great start to the season,” Crawford explained.
“Maddie Hemopo at nine, I spoke to her in the pre-season about probably just training with us this year, and she put her head down, earned her opportunity, and she’s kept that off the back of some really strong performances from us.”
Leisl’s Family Legacy
Centre Liesl Hopoate (pictured), now in her second stint with the Steelers, says it feels like she’s back where she belongs. The 19-year-old first featured for Manly Sea Eagles in the Lisa Fiaola Cup, then represented the Steelers in Tarsha Gale, and later joined Mounties for her debut Women’s Premiership season in 2025.
“It feels like home being back with Courtney [Crawford]. She’s probably the reason why I came back here,” Hopoate said.
“She’s given me lots of opportunities, and I just want to give back to her being here.”
Hopoate comes from a rugby league dynasty. Her uncle, John Hopoate, played 13 seasons in the NRL, while her cousin, Will Hopoate, played 14 seasons across the NRL and Super League. The family legacy continues with her cousins Lehi Hopoate at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (NRL), Pani Hopoate with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (NRLW), and Albert Hopoate playing for Warrington Wolves in the UK Super League.
Despite the surname and family legacy, Hopoate said some still didn’t make the connection.
“Some people don’t realise I had that last name so I don’t really get that much pressure on me,” Hopoate said.
“They have all the pressure on them because they’re in the big leagues, but they’re good examples to me to just follow in their footsteps.”
“They’ve been very supportive. I think that’s how we have so many of us playing in the NRL and NRLW. You don’t have harder critics than them anywhere.”
Initially a netballer who represented Tonga at the Youth World Cup, Hopoate admits rugby league didn’t appeal to her at first. However, after making the switch, she found herself falling in love with the game.
“I wasn’t really interested in rugby league. It’s not until you make some certain teams and the comp gets better,” Hopoate said.
“That’s when I fell in love with rugby league. Netball, you can’t hit or tackle anyone. Rugby league’s such a free-flowing game. Do your spark, do your magic out there on the field, and that’s why I love it.”
Hopoate also reflected on the opportunities she’s experienced in her representative career, particularly earning a spot with the Under 19s Blues in 2025 and 2026, an impressive feat for someone so new to rugby league.
“It’s actually surreal to get to wear a Blues jersey once, and then you get to put it on a second time,” Hopoate said.
“It’s actually crazy because last year I got to do it with my first cousin. Unfortunately this year she was out due to an injury, but then I got to do it with some of my really close mates.
“I got to play my first footy game with them and then got to play in a Blues jersey with them, which was really cool stuff.”
Latu Goes Back To The Future
Front rower Mary Latu, who was also part of the inaugural Steelers team for the Women’s Premiership in 2023, said the opportunities women now have in the game have improved greatly since she first played as a teenager.
“We’ve got a lot of girls who are really excited to develop their craft further and seeing the NRLW expand and seeing it become professional, moving away from the semi-professional, that would be really exciting in the future,” Latu said.
“It [pathways] definitely wasn’t around when I started. It was still kind of fresh; we didn’t really have any of the underage groups.
“We didn’t have any of the junior reps, so I started when I was fifteen at Corrimal, and I had to go straight into the open women’s team, so it was really daunting for me, especially not having a rugby league background.
“It’s really exciting to see now that they’re starting at younger ages rather than the girls stopping at twelve years old. They’re able to continue all the way up into the open age.
Now 27, Latu has also observed how much faster the women’s game has become.
“Definitely a lot faster, but that just shows how much the game has progressed and how much more development the girls are getting at a younger age to be able to keep at that performance level.”
Kick-off is scheduled for 3.00pm Saturday at Terry Lamb Complex, Chester Hill.
Words: Harrison Mellare
Photo credit: Denis Ivaneza